We Continue On
by A Writer With Mixed Interests
Summary: (Sequel to Different Setting) Two years ago, Lee's group was separated from Carlos and his daughter, Sarah, in Savannah. The mayhem doesn't end when they cross paths once again. *Co-written with heidipoo*
1. Six Months Later

**We Continue On**

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**Hello and welcome to the sequel of Different Setting! Once again, this is a co-written work with Heidi, so be sure to credit both of us, please. This story will (hopefully) be updated regularly. And to avoid any confusion, just like the last story, this will not be entirely plotted with the game; some fates will be different, and there may be more or less people in the end.**

**If you haven't read Different Setting, we would advise you to do so before reading this.**

**Disclaimer: We don't own The Walking Dead or its characters.**

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_Six Months Later_

"I will _not_ tell you again. Drop it."

Lee Everett's voice was dangerous, and when his voice was dangerous, he meant serious business. He usually wasn't one for pointing a gun at minors, but when it came to protecting Clementine, he would do whatever he could.

Finally, the teenager obliged, setting down Clementine's gun.

"Good," Lee nodded his approval. "Now get out. And if I ever see you threatening to harm my girl again, I will not hesitate to kill you. Got it?"

The girl nodded frightfully, and fled the bathroom. Clementine, now nine-and-a-half years old, shook with fear, and ran into Lee's arms.

"Are you okay, sweet pea?" Lee asked, holding the young girl close.

Clementine nodded, clutching the back of Lee's jacket. "Yeah. I'm just a little shaky."

Lee patted her back a few times before letting her go. He placed his hands on his shoulders, making sure that she was unharmed. A few moments later, the door opened again. This time, though, it was only Omid and Christa.

"We heard noises, are you two okay?" Christa inquired. She was now heavily pregnant, and it looked like she could pop at any given moment.

"Somebody snuck in here," Lee explained. "Tried to rob Clem."

"Holy shit!" Omid exclaimed.

"She's fine, though, right, Clem?" Lee looked over to the little girl once more. Of course, this little situation wouldn't scare her much, considering everything else she had been through already. She was one tough girl, that was for damn sure, and Lee prided himself on helping her become that strong.

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Good," Christa said. "If this place is dangerous, then we'll have to find somewhere else to camp," she added.

"Nah, it should be fine now," Lee replied.

"Yeah, plus you need to get off your feet, babe," Omid added, looking over at Christa lovingly.

She scoffed. "I'm fine, Omid."

"Your swollen ankles say otherwise," he retorted with a small chuckle.

"Omid!"

"What?" he inquired innocently. "I'm just looking out for you, and Omid Jr."

"There will be no such person," Christa scolded jokingly.

"Alright, then. I'm looking out for you and little Christa."

Christa rolled her eyes, but she was still smiling.

Lee couldn't help but chuckle at the little exchange and walked over to the bathroom door to lead everyone out. Their designated camp was only a short walk away, which was good for Christa especially. It was beginning to get dark.

"It's getting cold," Clementine noted, shivering slightly.

"It'll be fine, Clem," Lee reassured her. "Good thing I found you that jacket, huh?"

"Yeah, I'm glad." Clementine gave a short smile and a nod.

Ever since the events in Savannah, the group of four had been moving almost nonstop. This was mainly because Christa told them that it was too dangerous to stay in one place for too long, and if not for the downfall of the motor inn, Lee wouldn't have believed her.

Unfortunately, they had never managed to find Carlos, Lilly, and Sarah, so nobody knew if they had made it out safely, or if they were even still alive. They were brought up in conversation from time to time, mostly since Carlos was a doctor and was no longer here to help with Christa's baby. Clementine also still missed Sarah sometimes.

"Let's build a fire since it's getting dark," Omid suggested, once they were back outside. Being left in the dark was one of the worst possible things that could happen, so Lee obliged to building a fire. They could use it to keep warm, too, since it was beginning to get colder after the sunset.

"Do you still have that lighter, Clementine?" Lee asked.

"Yup!" she answered, reaching into her backpack and pulling it out. A lighter sure was a lucky find, it helped them build fires easier.

"I'll go look for wood," Christa commented, until Omid grabbed her shoulder.

"You're going to rest, I'll go look for the wood," he told her gently. He was always looking out for her and the baby. After all, he didn't want her to exert herself. With no doctor around, they didn't want anything bad to happen to Christa or her unborn child, because they wouldn't know what to do. Omid kissed her on the cheek. "Be right back!" he said, before walking slightly into the small woods to collect some fire fuel.

Christa sighed. "I swear sometimes I want to kill him."

Clementine couldn't help but to laugh slightly. "It's only because he really really loves you."

"I know," Christa replied. "But he's really annoying sometimes," she joked.

"He has to be the gentleman," Lee added with a smile. "I would know." He paused. "He's going to make one interesting father."

"Don't I know it," Christa said, shaking her head.

They all knew, though, that Omid would become even more protective once the baby arrived. They had begun looking for supplies that it would need, and they had only managed to find a few things so far.

It wasn't too long before Omid returned with some wood that hadn't quite been burned out yet. "I'm back!" he announced, setting some of it into the growing fire. He placed some aside, just in case they would need it for later.

He turned to his girlfriend. "You feeling alright, babe?"

Christa smiled. "The same way I felt ten minutes ago - still fine."

"Are you sure you're fine?" Omid questioned once more.

Christa sighed once more. "Omid, I love you, but if you don't shut up there will be consequences."

"I'd listen if I were you," Clementine told Omid with a small smile as she helped Lee prepare the fire. She stacked up the wood that Omid had found in a neat pile, and watched as Lee gathered a pile of old leaves to help ignite the fire. He switched the lighter on, and she watched as they went up in flames, and then ignited the wood.

"There..." he trailed off. "That should keep you warm, Clem." He smiled down at the young girl.

"Thanks, Lee," she replied.

"I'll have to teach you how to make a fire someday," he trailed off.

"I'd like that," she said simply.

It was quiet for a moment until Omid spoke up. "I'll take first watch tonight," he volunteered.

Lee nodded. It was usually he or Omid that took the watch shifts, although Christa and even Clem had volunteered to do so. "Thanks, man," he acknowledged him. He was agreeing tonight, since he had done watch for most of the previous night.

A little bit of food was rationed out to each of them, with Christa getting a bit more due to her pregnancy. It was getting late, so Lee, Clementine, and Christa decided to turn in for the night. This was becoming routine, but by now, they were almost used to it.

If only they knew the changes that would soon come along.

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**Just to be clear, these first few chapters are going to revolve around Lee and Clementine, but that'll change soon enough. ;) To be continued...?**


	2. Giving Birth

When morning came, Lee was the first to wake. He noticed that the fire had died down a lot, and Clementine was shivering slightly in her sleep. "Better get that fire going again," he mumbled mostly to himself, and began stacking new wood on the ash from the previous fire. His eyes drifted over to Christa, who was still sound asleep with her hand resting atop her protruding belly, and then to Omid, who had fallen asleep beside her. He was probably exhausted after keeping watch all night.

"Lee?" It was Clem's voice. "Lee, are you awake?" she questioned.

"Right here, sweet pea," he answered as he continued to fix the fire.

Clementine walked over and sat beside her guardian, waiting patiently for the fire to begin burning again. It didn't take long for Lee to finally get it going once more, and he smiled to himself.

"There, that should do it," he said to himself. Then, he turned to the little girl. "You sleep okay, Clem?"

"I guess," Clementine shrugged. She missed sleeping on a bed, or at the very least something more comfortable, but it was something.

Lee nodded and looked over at Christa's protruding stomach. She would be due to have her baby very soon, and it would need supplies, something that was running low. When Omid and Christa woke up, they would have to keep moving. They always did; staying put only meant trouble.

Clementine rubbed her small hands together and placed them out in front of the fire, warming them up. It wasn't nearly as cold as it was last night, which was good.

Christa woke shortly after Clementine, sitting up and wincing slightly. The sight of Omid beside her made her laugh. "How long has he been out?" she inquired, looking at his open mouth and hearing him snore loudly.

Lee chuckled. "Not sure. Clem and I just woke up."

"Does he always snore like that?" Clem asked.

Christa nodded. "And sometimes he's even louder."

Clementine giggled, imagining Christa having to deal with that every night before all this. But surely she was used to it at this point.

"I think it's best we head out soon, before anything shows up," Lee pointed out. He looked over at Omid. "We don't want his snoring to attract any attention, either," he joked, but surely it wasn't that loud.

"Yeah, you're right," Christa agreed, slowly seating herself on a fallen tree. It was only a few minutes later when the snoring stopped, and Omid sat upright, taking a seat next to his girlfriend.

"Morning!" he announced, arching his back and stretching. It didn't take much to fully wake him up, as he was more of a morning person than anyone there. "We ready to head out?"

"I think so," Lee said, nodding.

So with that, they all stood up (Omid helping Christa), and got what little supplies they had left before heading out. Christa grimaced a couple of times, but she tried to shrug it off as nothing.

Omid, of course, noticed almost immediately, always worried for her. "Now, are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm _fine,_" Christa barked, causing him to wince slightly. She sighed. "I'm sorry. The baby's just been kicking more than usual lately."

"Kicking?" Omid questioned.

"Yeah," Christa nodded.

"Babe, are you sure it's nothing else? It's nearing the end...maybe we should-"

"It's not time yet!" Christa nearly yelled. "It can't be..."

"Babies are born early all the time," Clementine mused, jumping into the conversation.

"It just...I would know? Wouldn't I?" Christa asked, looking at Lee as if the man would somehow have an answer for her.

He shrugged. "I don't know, Christa."

"Just relax," Omid coaxed. "I guess we just won't know until it happens."

"And it won't be happening anytime soon," Christa insisted.

Omid looked at her a little skeptically, like he didn't believe her, but spoke no more of it. He looked up ahead and saw what looked like a store plaza coming into view. "You think we can look for supplies in there?" he asked.

"Maybe," Lee replied. "We'd have to make sure it's clear, first."

"Sounds good," Omid agreed.

From the distance, the stores looked empty. It was the inside that could likely be different. Lee decided to check out the first one, and got his gun ready.

"Clem, stay here with Christa and Omid, okay?" he asked.

Clementine looked a little disappointed, but nodded. "Okay, Lee."

He readied himself to go into the first store. He didn't have much ammo, so if there were walkers in there, he'd have to aim carefully. Quietly, he opened the door to the first store, and made his way inside. It looked clear at a glance, but it was dark, so he had to check every crevice and corner to make sure it was completely clear for Clementine and the others.

"It looks good in here," he called out to the others. Hopefully, they'd be able to find some much needed supplies in here.

Luckily, there weren't any noises once they entered, which was a good sign. It was a rather small clothing store, so maybe they could find something warm for the baby once it arrived.

"Goddamn, it's dark in here," Lee muttered to himself. Good thing the sun shone through the windows.

There wasn't much in that store, save for a couple extra clothes and a white blanket to wrap the baby in. Perhaps they would get a little luckier in the other stores - and _not_ have to deal with many walkers, if any at all.

It wasn't until they reached the fourth store when Christa cried out, clutching her stomach. She had to grab the nearby pole to keep herself steady.

"Christa!" Omid cried, rushing over to her.

"Something's wrong..." she trailed off, grabbing Omid's hand.

"Christa, it's happening," Omid tried to tell her.

She shook her head. "No...not now, not here."

Omid looked over at Lee. "We need to find a safe place so she can deliver the baby." Out of all the stores they checked so far, the third one had the most light. "Let's go back there," Omid pointed to the third store. "It has enough light, and we can move furniture in front of the door." It was a good plan, and Lee agreed.

"Okay, that sounds good," Lee replied. He had never seen Omid so serious before, so he knew that he meant business, and that he really cared about Christa.

"Can you walk, babe?" Omid asked, holding her hand, and supporting her weight by wrapping his arm around her lower back.

"I think so," she nodded, taking little and gentle steps.

"Come on Clem, stay close," Lee ordered, leading the way for the small group.

Clementine nodded and walked a little ways behind Lee. She opened the door and allowed everyone inside before going in herself. Lee and Omid found a mattress for Christa, and helped her lay down.

They moved a couch and a table in front of the double doors as quickly as possible, hoping to keep whatever wanted to come in, out. Christa was trying to hold back screams as Omid knelt down and held her hand tightly. This baby was coming, and quickly.

Christa's pants were removed, and Lee got in front of her, ready to deliver the baby.

"Come on, Christa, you can do it!" Omid encouraged, squeezing her hand. "Just breathe, okay? Breathe!"

"I _am_ breathing!" Christa yelled at him.

"Push!" Lee cried out, and she did so, letting out a few yells in the process. Clementine, who was keeping watch, made sure that nothing came to the door, or got inside. She glanced back every few seconds, wanting to be sure that everything would turn out okay.

"I can see the head, Christa!" Lee exclaimed a few minutes later. "It's coming out, just keep pushing!"

"It's gonna be alright, babe, just a little more now!" Omid continued. Christa squeezed his hand tighter now, and let out another scream.

Soon, another piercing cry filled the air, and it didn't come from Christa. Lee was holding the newborn baby now, still attached to the umbilical cord. He smiled at Omid and Christa and showed them their baby. "Congratulations, it's a girl."

"It's little Christa!" Omid yelled excitedly, and Christa let out a weak laugh.

"I told you we're not calling her that," she chided.

"You got that blanket, Clem?" Lee asked, and Clem nodded, running to her backpack and pulling out the small white blanket that they had found only moments ago. "Thanks," he said to her, and after cutting the umbilical cord, he wrapped the small baby up in the blanket, and handed the bundle to Christa.

"Whatcha gonna call her?" Clementine asked, looking at the new mother.

Christa and Omid looked at one another. "You still like the name Genevieve?" Christa inquired.

Omid nodded, and gave a wide smile. "Hey, I suggested it, didn't I?" he shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess you did," Christa answered. She looked down at the sleeping baby, Genevieve, and smiled. "Hey, hon, we're your mommy and daddy."

"And we're real glad you're here," Omid added. When Christa finally handed him Genevieve, Lee had never seen a happier looking man. Genevieve looked like a mix of both of her parents, with skin darker than Omid's but lighter than Christa's, and matching dark hair.

"She's cute," Clementine mused, smiling down at Genevieve.

Lee nodded in agreement, and then turned to Clem. "Come on, Clem, let's leave them alone for now. We can hold Genevieve later."

"Okay," Clementine replied, and got up.

They were lucky enough to have supplies for the baby, and for everyone to be alive...for now, at least. But it wouldn't be long before their luck would change.


	3. Always

Two weeks went by after the birth of Genevieve, and Christa slowly but surely managed to make a full recovery. Omid, however, seemed to be even more protective now, of both of them. He would worry whenever Christa or Genevieve was out of his sight for even a few minutes, but Christa would always try to reassure him that they were both time.

During that time, the group managed to find a destination after leaving the store: Wellington, a place near Michigan that was rumored to be some kind of safe camp. It would take a long time to travel, but Omid was determined to get his girlfriend and baby daughter there safely, and Lee was the same way with Clementine.

"We need to be careful around this area," Lee informed the others. "There were some walkers back that way, and it doesn't look too safe."

Omid nodded, getting his gun ready just in case something were to jump out at them. They were heading into a forest, one that looked thick and seemed to stretch on for miles and miles. And to make matters worse, it was beginning to get dark outside. They wouldn't be able to travel that far at night, but they wouldn't be able to rest either if they couldn't find a safe place.

Baby Genevieve was sound asleep, tucked away in Christa's embrace, and the group began their way into the deep foliage of the woods. Clementine clung to Lee's shirt, the little girl still not too fond of the dark.

Lee wrapped an arm around her and gently squeezed her, assuring her that he would keep her safe. Just like he always did.

So far, things were too eerily quiet. Not even a cricket was heard in the night, and they could barely see a thing.

Omid gasped, thinking that something had snuck up behind him, but it was only a false alarm. This only made the already wide-eyed man more alert.

"We should probably go a little faster," he advised the others.

"We're doing the best we can, Omid," Christa tried to assure him.

He looked back at her. "I know, I'm just worried..."

"We should find a clearing to make shelter," Lee suggested, knowing that being in the woods when it was dark wasn't such a good idea. He didn't want anyone to get hurt.

"I like that idea," Clementine chimed in.

"Me too," Christa added.

"How's the baby?" Omid inquired, looking back at the two.

"Sleeping soundly," Christa replied.

"Good," Omid smiled.

There wasn't much in these woods, save for an abandoned campsite with the tents already torn up and three dead walkers. The smell, to this day, was unbearable, and surely no one (minus Genevieve, obviously) could sleep around that.

The sound of growling and two gunshots could be heard in the distance, making the others jump. This couldn't be good, and this probably meant that this forest wasn't so quiet after all. Clementine gave Lee's hand a squeeze, but she tried to show that she wasn't afraid.

Omid loaded his gun, but Lee shook his head. "We shouldn't risk the noise," he whispered loud enough for him to hear.

They continued to walk, being careful as possible. It was hard though, considering them being in the dark and all, but they had no other choice, they had to get out of these woods. While they walked, the groans of the walkers continued to get louder, and they heard another gunshot. It was clear that they weren't alone in the forest.

And to make matters worse, Genevieve began to cry.

"Shit!" Lee exclaimed.

"Can you quiet her down?" Omid asked, looking back at his girlfriend.

"I'm trying," she said in defense.

"Lee!" Clementine yelled out, spotting a group of walkers coming towards them. Omid was the first to shoot his gun, not letting any of the walkers come near Christa or his daughter, and Lee soon followed, trying not to waste ammo as they shot around in the dark.

"Is everyone okay?" Omid questioned with a whisper.

"Omid!" It was Christa's blood curdling scream, along with the baby's loud cries.

"Christa!" Omid turned around just in time to see her being grabbed by a walker.

He loaded his gun again, taking the shot. The walker fell down just as it was leaning down to take a bite, blood splattering onto Christa's face, and even some on Genevieve's blanket.

Nearby, Clementine let out a scream as a much bigger walker grabbed her arm. She tried to pull away, but the walker was too strong, and towered over her in height. Lee sprung into action immediately, grabbing his meat cleaver to chop off the walker's arm in one blow. Then, he rammed it into the walker's skull, cutting its head right in half.

They had to get away; there was no other choice. Genevieve's crying had alerted not only the walkers, but the bandits, too. More gunshots could be heard behind them, but, fortunately, the walkers were being shot down, not them.

There was a clearing, so the group ran for that, Christa clutching Genevieve tightly.

Lee placed his hands on his knees, panting. "Is everyone alright?"

"I'm okay," Clementine replied, feeling tired herself.

"I think we're good," Omid added. He turned to his girlfriend. "Christa?"

But Christa had an apprehensive, almost remorseful look on her face. There was a beat, but then she handed Genevieve to Omid and pulled up her sleeve, revealing a bite mark on her upper right arm. Clementine gasped.

"Oh my God..." Lee trailed off.

"No..." Omid shook his head in disbelief. "No. Baby, this can't be happening. It's not true..." For the first time since Lee had met him, Omid looked truly afraid. Christa was his other half, how could he go on without her if she were to die? Genevieve needed her mother.

"It all happened so fast..." she trailed off, looking up at Omid with pure sadness in her dark eyes. "You know what has to happen, Omid...you can't let me turn." Lee could tell she was holding back tears, she was trying to be strong like always, but the rest of the group knew she was scared.

"You're not going to turn!" Omid replied harshly. But then his face fell, tears brimming his eyes. "You can't leave me, Christa...I can't take care of Genevieve by myself." He grabbed her hand and squeezed it tight.

"You'll be fine, I know it," she told him with a sad smile.

"This can't be fucking happening..." Omid repeated, pacing around with the now silent baby in his arms. "Can't we...can't we do something? We have medical supplies now...maybe...maybe removing your arm will help...it'll save your life!" He was in denial, and everyone else could see it.

Christa shook her head. "No, Omid, it can't. I would bleed out. I already am." It was true, as the blood was seeping out through her jacket. Her face was already beginning to pale.

Omid still looked like he didn't want to believe it. She was fine fifteen minutes ago, and now...this? What had he done to deserve this?

Slowly, he walked forward and placed Genevieve back into Christa's arms. The two embraced tightly, and Clementine and Lee watched the scene with sadness. They decided to give them some space, let them take their time.

Clementine grabbed Lee's hand and squeezed it, "Christa's not okay, is she?" she questioned.

Lee shook his head, "No, she's not, sweet pea."

Omid kissed Christa one last time before pulling away and looking at her. "Do you want me to...shoot you?" he asked, hesitant, because he honestly didn't think he'd be able to do that. He wouldn't be able to put the love of his life out of her misery.

She nodded. "It's the only way."

"Christa...I don't think I can," he told her sadly. "It's too much..."

"Omid-"

Lee stepped in. "If you really can't do it, Omid, I'd be able to," he offered his help, remembering that he had to do the same thing for Kenny's family when Duck had gotten bitten.

Omid thought about it, then nodded. "Thank you, Lee. Really," he expressed his gratitude, sadness flickering in his eyes. He then turned to Christa. "I love you so much, babe. You and Genevieve, both of you deserve so much better."

"I love you, too, Omid. More than anything," Christa replied, weakly now. "You keep our baby safe."

Omid nodded, the tears finally escaping. "Always."

There was nothing in the woods but silence. Lee aimed the gun at Christa, waiting for her to stop breathing just as he had with Duck. When the woman's head slumped over, he fired the bullet into her brain, not allowing her to become a walker.

Genevieve began to wail again at the sound of the gunshot, and Omid could be heard trying to comfort her through his own grief. "Mommy's gone to a better place now," he barely managed to get out.

Clementine looked away sadly as she listened to Omid sob as he clutched his daughter, the one and only person he had left now. Genevieve quit crying after a few more seconds, but Omid continued.

"Omid..." Lee trailed off slowly, approaching him. "She's somewhere better now, I promise. But we need to go, before they catch us."

There was a long pause, and then, a nod. It was as if a whole new person had taken over Omid. He turned around to face Lee and Clementine. "Let's go."

The two of them nodded and set off first. Omid, however, turned to give a final look at his girlfriend, who was definitely not coming back now. Finally, he shielded his daughter away from the sight, and began to trudge off after the remaining group.


	4. A Risky Move

The night was eerily quiet as Carlos, Lilly, and Sarah, along with their new friends that they had made, awaited for some help.

After Carlos, Lilly, and Sarah left Savannah, they were on their own for quite a while, until they met a woman named Tavia. She had told them about a camp run by a man named William Carver, and that they had food, supplies, everything needed to survive the apocalypse. It didn't take much for Carlos to agree to go with her because he wanted to find a safe place for Sarah, but Lilly was skeptical about everything like usual.

Their time at the camp started off pretty well, and William Carver even seemed to be a respectable and honest man. But that was months ago...everything was different now. Completely and totally different. Carver was practically a madman, and power hungry. That's why they needed to get out, so they planned their escape. It would be easy now, too, especially with all their new allies that they had met.

"What's taking so long?" Luke, one of the new allies, had asked. He was sort of the leader of his group, looking out for all of them and whatnot.

Carlos shrugged. "I don't know, Reggie should have been here." Reggie was another man in the camp, and he was willing to help Carlos and all the others escape safely.

"Daddy, what's going on?" Sarah questioned, standing close to her father, afraid.

Carlos paused, wanting to explain this to his daughter the best he could. "It's not safe here anymore, sweetie. We need to leave because there's bad people here, who will hurt us."

"And we'll be safe if we leave here?" Sarah inquired. She was going on fifteen now, and was a bit taller than she was when they were first with Lilly and the others at the motor inn. Carlos had also managed to keep her hair short, too, for her safety.

"It will be safer than here," Carlos confirmed.

Sarah nodded. "Okay."

"Where the hell is Reggie?" Lilly demanded in a quiet, yet biting voice. "He was supposed to be here five minutes ago!"

"He'll come around, just be patient," an older man in their group, Pete, stated calmly.

"We're fucked if someone finds out we escaped, though," his nephew, Nick, added. "What if-"

"Alright, guys, the coast is clear." This time, it was Reggie who had spoken up. The Indian man sneaked over to where the group were waiting. "I've deciphered the combination to the gate outside, and you should all be able to get out. Remember, though, be quiet or else Bill will hear you."

"Thank you, Reggie," Nick's mother, Helen, whispered. She pinched her son on the shoulder for swearing in front of a child.

"Alright, we better go," Luke whispered, starting to lead everyone away. He turned to Reggie. "Thanks again for the help, man."

"Is everyone ready then?" Carlos turned around to see the rest of the group getting ready to leave.

"Yeah, let's get the hell out of here," a pregnant woman, Rebecca, said as her husband, Alvin, stood beside her. Before they had all exited, Rebecca turned to kiss Reggie on the cheek. "Thanks for everything, Reggie," she said, and they were on their way out of that horrible camp.

It was dark, so it was a little difficult to see, but the group stayed clustered together, and remained completely silent so they wouldn't get caught. Everyone knew the consequences would be death if Carver had awoken and heard them, or if any of the guards had spotted them.

The group remembered to stay quiet until they were at a safe enough distance away from the camp. Lilly had stolen a large steak knife from one of the guards a day earlier, so she took care of the couple of walkers that tried to cross them. Carlos led Sarah away so that she didn't have to watch.

"Fuckers," she hissed under her breath. Ever since the death of her father, Larry, she never hesitated to kill any dead thing that even came near her.

"Alright, we need to think of where we're goin'," Luke pointed out. "We can't stay in these woods forever, or Carver'll catch us."

"We can stop at the exhibit museum coming up shortly," Carlos announced, pointing at a nearby sign. He could tell that Sarah was getting tired, and honestly, he was too.

Luke nodded. "That sounds good." He turned around to look at the rest of the group. "Everyone okay with stopping at the museum for the night?" he asked, wanting to get input from the rest of the group. They all complied in an instant, everyone was really tired anyway, and they all needed their rest.

They continued to walk in silence, following all the signs they passed to get to the museum quickly. Hopefully there wouldn't be many walkers there, and they'd all be able to rest immediately. Carlos was glad that he was able to get Sarah out of that damn camp. If Carver even touched her, there would be hell to pay. And he was also glad that he, Lilly, and Sarah were part of a larger group now. He always believed that there were safety in numbers.

Sometimes he thought about Lee, and Clementine, and if they had made it out of the city. If fate was on their side, maybe they'd be able to meet up again some day.

Sarah would occasionally ask about them as well, if he or Lilly thought that they were still alive. Every time, they would answer that they didn't know. Lilly, though, wasn't as optimistic about what could have happened.

About ten minutes later, the group reached the demolished museum, called Parker's Run, and after Luke and Nick checked out the observation deck, the group decided that they could sleep there for the night.

When they got to the entrance, there were about ten walkers roaming around aimlessly. The guns would make too much noise, so the group would have to take them out quietly. Helen took Sarah and Rebecca up to the observation deck while Lilly and the men got to work on killing the walkers.

Lilly, of course, went first, killing the nearest walker by stabbing it with the knife. Her jacket became coated with blood, but she didn't care.

"That woman..." Pete under his breath as he approached another walker, ready to kill it. He didn't dislike Lilly, but her wanting to lead everyone and give orders could be a pain in the ass sometimes.

Carlos chuckled. "You'll get used to her." When Lilly finished killing her share of walkers, she made her way up to the observation deck with the rest of the women and Sarah.

"Has she always been like that?" Nick asked.

Carlos nodded. "Pretty much," he told them. "I think it got worse after she lost her father. He got bitten; she had to shoot him."

"Damn," Alvin empathized.

Nick scoffed. "We all been through shit, though, ain't no reason to be a bitch about it."

"Nick," Luke warned.

"No, I get it," Carlos replied, "She can be a bit moody and unstable at times. But that's just how she is. She's great around my daughter, though," he defended. "Sarah really likes having her around."

"That's gotta count for somethin', then," Pete said with a small smile. He killed the final walker, and then the men made their way up the observation deck. Helen was taking a look at the fake cannon, while Lilly, Sarah, and Rebecca were all inside the little gift shop.

Noticing her father, Sarah went over to greet him. "Are they all gone, Dad?"

"They're gone, Sarah," Carlos reassured her. "Don't worry, we're all safe up here for tonight."

Sarah smiled at him and returned to her spot next to Rebecca. Since it was rather late at night, the group decided to turn in for the night with Nick taking first watch. He would wake his uncle later on.

Morning came rather quickly, and Lilly was the first to wake. All of the others in the group were probably exhausted from the previous night's events. She decided she'd let them sleep because it wasn't even mid-morning yet. She couldn't help but to let her mind wander as she sat up and watched the sunrise. She thought about her dad, and she wondered if things would be different if he were still alive. She couldn't help but to think about that most days.

"Lilly, is that you?" It was Sarah's voice that captured the older woman out of her thoughts.

"Yeah, it's me," Lilly said back, and Sarah came to sit beside her.

"Good morning," she greeted politely, and then wiped the sleep out of her eyes.

"Morning," Lilly replied thoughtfully.

"Do you know where we're going to go today?" the teen questioned, curious about traveling.

Lilly honestly didn't know. Hell, they could find themselves walking for weeks, or even months. "We're gonna find someplace safe, where we can stay for a long time," she decided to say.

"With no bad people?" Sarah asked.

"Right." Lilly honestly never understood why or how Sarah was so fond of her, out of all people, even after all this time. To most everybody, she was some dictator; someone who seized the power to be a leader. But somehow, Sarah had overlooked that on day one. Deep down, though, Lilly kind of liked having a little shadow.

"It's pretty," Sarah eventually said, referring to the sunrise.

Lilly barely paid attention, but she replied, "Oh. Uh, yeah, I guess it is."

They didn't get to sit alone together for long, though. The group began to wake up within the following half-hour, and then it was time to move again.


	5. Good-Bye, Mom

It seemed as though the group had been walking for a long time, when in reality, it was only a few days or so, when they had found a cabin in the woods. Luke, Nick, and Lilly had checked inside to make sure it was safe, and as luck would have it, it was. On the plus side, there was plenty of food and supplies inside. They were all glad to have finally found someplace safe.

Carlos was happy that Sarah could finally be safe without having to worry about bad people, or walkers even. And she was much happier, too, so that was another plus.

Things actually went without incident for about a month, until Nick and Pete came back with a deer...and a teenage girl, who looked to be about Sarah's age or slightly older. She appeared to be nursing some kind of injury, which was a bit suspicious.

"Who the hell is this?" Lilly demanded, crossing her arms as she noticed the girl. Even nowadays, she tried to play the group's leader. "Pete, you can't just bring new people here without letting us know!"

"She's hurt!" Pete defended. "I was hopin' Carlos could have a look at her and make sure it isn't anything serious," he explained, as he and the rest of the rather large group stood around in the small living room of the cabin. The girl looked sick, but Pete wasn't going to leave a sick girl out in the woods, especially if they were capable of helping her.

"Lilly's right though, Pete," Luke defended the older woman. "What if she's bitten?"

"We can't be risking that," Rebecca chimed in.

Helen scoffed. "Oh, everyone hush up, if we can help this young girl, then we're going to help her. No fuss." She was like her brother in that way, always wanting to help people. "Now where's Carlos so he can get a look?" she questioned.

Lilly ignored her. "Did you even ask her if she was bitten, Pete?" she questioned.

"...No," Pete trailed off. "But I didn't think I had to!"

"Well, are you bit?" Nick looked over to the girl who hadn't said a single word yet.

The girl looked somewhat intimidated at all of these speaking speaking over her, but only for a second. "Yeah, but...it's not that deep, I think...uh, I can go, if you want."

"And you two just brought her here?" Lilly asked, angrily now. "Look at her, she's paling already!"

"Now, look, Lilly, I'm not gonna leave someone this young in the woods to die," Pete tried to calm her down, knowing her temper. "Hell, maybe we can control it with the right treatment." Here, he turned to the girl. "What's your name?

"Ainsley," the girl spoke slowly, and coughed once. "My name's Ainsley."

"Well, Ainsley, we've got a doctor here, maybe he can help with that bite," Pete offered. "Where's Carlos?"

"I'm right here," Carlos announced as he walked down the stairs. "Now, will someone fill me in on what's going on?"

"She's fucking bit!" Lilly yelled, turning to Carlos angrily. "Tell them you can't treat a bite," she demanded, and then turned around to look at the rest of the group. "Because if you could, my fucking dad would still be here!" She was beyond pissed, and maybe even a little upset.

The group seemed to ignore her, though. "We have the supplies, don't we?" Alvin asked. "Maybe you could just look?"

Carlos looked over at Lilly who was standing with her arms crossed, and then to the girl, Ainsley. "I'm not going to waste medical supplies on someone who is just going to die anyway." He was blunt with it, and you could see the shock come across the girl's face.

"Carlos!" Pete nearly yelled.

"Well, he's right!" Rebecca jumped in the conversation once more. "We need to focus on the living." She gestured to her pregnant belly as if it would justify her argument.

"I'm sorry," Ainsley spoke up. "I'll just go."

"That would be best," Lilly spoke harshly, getting a few glares.

"Now, wait a minute." It was Helen who stopped the arguing for a moment. "Even if she is going to turn, one of us could help her out," she suggested.

"Mom," Nick warned her. "It's dangerous, for all of us."

"It wouldn't hurt for someone to _try,_ Nick," Helen scolded him. "I thought I taught you better than that!"

"Sorry," Nick mumbled.

Silence filled the entire cabin for a few moments, before Pete finally walked forward. "Alright, if no one will help this girl, then Helen and I will," he announced, nodding toward his younger sister.

Helen stood up and walked over to Ainsley, placing a gentle hand on her back as she led the teenager out of the room, Pete following behind them.

"God, I can't fucking believe this!" Lilly exclaimed, sitting down on the opposite couch and throwing her arms up in the air.

It was only then that Sarah was noticed on the stairs, watching everyone bicker.

"Dad, what's happening?" she asked, a little frightened by all the yelling. "Who was that girl?"

"Don't worry about it, sweetie, go on back upstairs and get ready for bed. I'll be up in a few moments," he had told her, and she obliged with a frown, making her way back up the stairs and into her room that she got to have all to herself.

Carlos went over and sat beside Lilly, while the rest of the group went about their nightly routine, the argument seeming to unfaze them. "Lilly, you've got to calm down," he chided, looking over at her.

She scoffed. "How can I?" she inquired.

Carlos shook his head. "You just can't boss everyone around; you're not the leader, no one is. We work together."

"It doesn't seem like it," she retorted.

"We make decisions as a group, even if some of us disagree," Carlos tried to explain.

"All I'm trying to do is protect every one of us, and if they don't want to accept that, then they can be my fucking guest." At this, she stood up. "You know what? Fuck this, I'm going to bed. Goodnight."

Carlos watched as she walked upstairs, and decided to see what Pete and Helen were doing with Ainsley before he put Sarah to bed. He, of course, knew that they wouldn't be successful in treating her; the girl was done for.

This was confirmed when he walked into the kitchen. Pete wasn't anywhere to be found, but Nick and Helen were standing there, over Ainsley's freshly dead body. She was going to turn at any given moment.

"We tried, but...damn it, we wanted to help this girl," Helen stated remorsefully.

"She was as good as dead as soon as she got bit," Nick commented. "What should we do now?" he inquired, looking over at his mother.

She shrugged. "Bury her? I think she at least deserves that much."

"You want help with the body? Luke and I can help carry her," he offered.

Helen nodded. "Sure, I'd like that." Nick yelled for Luke, and the man came almost immediately, and all three of them helped lift the body and began carrying the girl outside where they'd dig a hole and bury her.

But Carlos saw her eyes opening, confirming that she had turned that quickly. "Drop her!" he yelled, warning them, but it was too late.

It happened so quickly, and no one even saw it coming. Ainsley reached up and bit Helen right in the neck, causing the woman to gasp out and drop her. She clutched her neck, gasping for breath, but she, too, was unsaveable.

Luke killed the undead girl with his machete while Nick dropped to the ground, grabbing his mother. "MOM! Oh my God...oh my God!" He began to cry, and gently placed her head in his lap.

"Nick..." Helen tried to speak, but her throat was too torn to properly get a word out. "I...I lo-" But she couldn't finish that statement, and died in her son's arms.

Nick stared down at his deceased mother for a few seconds, before gently placing her down and getting out his gun. He didn't give two shits about the noise, and shot her in the head before she could turn. As soon as he did that, he dropped back down to his knees and began to scream.

This alerted everyone in the house, and they all stood on the porch, wondering what on earth had happened. Pete bolted over to them and knelt down beside Nick, trying desperately to calm him while grieving for his sister all the same. Sarah gasped as she watched the scene from behind Lilly.

Luke remained silent, as he was grieving a bit himself. After all, he had known Helen for most of his life as well. Finally, he crouched down next to the uncle and nephew, and sighed. "Y'all want us to bury her?"

Pete ran his hand over his face before nodding. "That would be best. Thank you, son."

Luke beckoned Alvin to come help him dig the hole, and Rebecca, Carlos, Sarah, and Lilly went inside in total silence and shock of what had just happened. Carlos wanted to get his daughter away from there as quickly as possible.

Once the hole was finally dug up, Pete scooped up his little sister's body bridal style and gently placed her into the hole, before Alvin began covering her with the dirt. Nick was bawling, and Pete was clearly trying to stay strong for his nephew, without much avail. It wasn't until a few walkers showed up, some time later, when the three of them went back inside, too deep in grief to even kill them.

"Helen got sick, didn't she?" Sarah asked sadly as Carlos tucked her in.

Carlos didn't want to say anything about that, and cursed himself for not making her stay up here, but he had to. "I'm afraid so, honey."

Sarah paused, and lowered her voice. "It's like with Larry, isn't it?"

"What?" Carlos asked, somewhat surprised.

"Lilly had to kill him because he got sick," Sarah reminded him quietly so that the older woman wouldn't hear from the next room. "Is that...what Nick had to do?"

Carlos didn't answer her, knowing that if he did, anything would scare her. Sarah took this as a yes, and reached out to take her dad's hand, not wanting these bad things to happen anymore. She missed when things were simpler.

"Daddy, will you stay until I fall asleep?" she asked, sounding more like a child than usual.

Her father nodded, using his other hand to brush her hair out of her face. "Of course."


	6. Attacked (All That Remains)

_**Episode 1: All That Remains**_

* * *

The sun was just setting in the horizon as Lee, Clementine, and Omid had decided to stop for the night. It was rather chilly, and Genevieve was beginning to get fussy. Months had passed since the death of Christa, and the group had no idea where they were. Of course, they were still heading to Wellington, but they had no idea how close or far they were. Winter was dead ahead of them, and that worried Lee the most. How would they survive with nowhere to go?

"I'll try to get a fire started," Lee broke the silence.

Clementine only nodded, and then looked over at Omid, waiting for him to respond. But he didn't. He was often quiet these days, well, ever since Christa had passed. Clementine knew that he wasn't the same man from when they first met him; he was more serious, and hardened now. And way protective over baby Genevieve, never letting the little one out of his sight. She was bigger now, but not by much, especially since she wasn't eating how a normal baby her age should be.

"Are you okay, Omid?" Clem inquired gently.

He shrugged, not even bothering to look up.

Clementine watched as Lee attempted to get the fire going, but tonight, it wasn't going so well. It had rained some hours earlier, and the thunder that could be heard moments later confirmed that it would probably rain again shortly.

They had been lucky to catch a weasel, and Lee was trying to get the wood to burn so that it could cook.

Clementine turned and glanced at Omid, who was just staring straight ahead, clutching Genevieve as if she would disappear at any moment. She was a little over a year old now, and she was still unaware of what was really going on, playing with Omid's shirt like a toy.

"Omid, talk to us," Clem nearly pleaded.

Omid squeezed his eyes tightly shut for a moment. He was probably thinking about Christa, something that he most likely did all the time. He only glanced at her before placing Genevieve down, allowing her to toddle around, and decided to help Lee with the fire.

"It's not working," Omid pointed out slowly, glancing over at his daughter as he knelt by the fire. "Lee, I think the wood's too wet to burn."

"You're probably right," Lee replied.

"There's more smoke than flame," Omid said lifelessly.

"What else can we do?" Clementine asked, hopefully.

"Find something that will burn?" Omid added.

"It's getting dark, though," Lee pointed out. "And it's about to rain."

"I don't know, then," Omid shrugged.

Lee sighed. "Looks like we'll be waiting to eat, then."

Clementine wrapped her arms around herself. "I'm freezing."

"I'm sorry, Clem," Lee told her. "I wish I had something for you. Damned if it doesn't get colder."

"Wait until we get up to Wellington, then talk to me about cold," Omid added. "This'll turn to snow soon enough. It won't be easy."

"Is it safe there?" Clementine questioned.

"It should be. Safer than here, at least," Lee tried to assure her.

Omid was quiet for a moment, and then walked over to Genevieve and picked her up. "I'm gonna go look for more wood, guys," he said. "You mind keeping the fire lit until I get back?"

"Sure thing," Lee answered. "Uh, you want me to take the baby?"

"No, I've got her," Omid told him, shaking his head. "Thanks, though." And with that, he walked off, carrying Genevieve.

"Clem, see if you can find that lighter in your backpack," Lee instructed, poking the weasel with the stick once more.

Clementine nodded and walked over to her backpack. She glanced at the photo that she had of Lee, and was glad to have picked that up from the drugstore back in Macon. Then there was the picture of Kenny, Katjaa, and Duck, which Clementine took a moment to look at. She just hoped that they were all somewhere better now. Finally, she set that aside and took out the butterfly lighter.

"Here, Lee," she said, handing it to him.

"Thanks, sweet pea." Lee took the lighter and flicked it out to the logs.

It made the flames a bit higher, but not much. Clementine stayed by the fire with Lee, though, trying to warm her cold body. It was quiet for a few moments, the only sound was the cracking and popping of the fire, until, suddenly, Lee and Clementine heard voices in the distance.

"Lee?" Clem whispered.

"Shh, quiet, Clem," Lee instructed. He then took out his gun that he always carried, and had it ready, just in case someone would try to attack him or Clementine. He stepped quietly, with Clem right behind him, taking small steps in the direction that the voices were coming from. They seemed to get louder with each passing step.

"You're obviously with someone, where's your group?"

Clementine heard one of the voices, and felt her heartbeat speed up a bit. She hoped that Omid and Genevieve were okay.

"Don't fucking lie to us!"

"Who do you think you're fooling?"

"Give us the truth and you don't get hurt!"

They took a couple more steps, and Clementine gasped at what lay ahead. Omid was surrounded by three bandits, clutching a now crying Genevieve.

"Th-There's no one else!" Omid cried out. "Please, it's just my daughter and me."

"He's lyin'!" one bandit shouted.

"Cut the shit and tell the truth!" another demanded, now pointing a gun at the baby's head.

"I'm not lying!" Omid yelled.

"Clementine, stay close," Lee instructed. He picked up a rock and threw it, hitting one of the bandits right in the head. "OMID, RUN!"

Omid obliged once the bandits were distracted, and Lee and Clementine immediately ran in the other direction. Genevieve's wails were growing weaker, the farther they went.

"Where the fuck are you?" one of the bandits yelled. Lee pulled Clem close to him, hiding behind a tree. But they couldn't hide there forever, and they ran off again, the bandit chasing after them. Lee broke off a large stick and killed an approaching walker with it.

"CLEM, RUN!" Lee yelled.

The bandit eventually caught up to them, and for the briefest of seconds, he and Lee simply glared at each other, before Lee stabbed him with the branch and began running with Clementine.

The two continued to run, wondering where Omid had went, until they came to cliff that led to the river that was near them. One of the bandits was right behind them, so Lee had to fight him off momentarily so that he and Clem could turn around and run once more. He didn't want to waste what little ammo he did have. Luckily, there were walkers nearby, so Lee pushed the bandit into one of them.

"No, fuck!" the bandit had yelled.

"Lee!" Clem called out, getting the man's attention. A walker had grabbed onto her as well, and was pulling on her wrist. "Help!" she cried once more, and this time, Lee didn't hesitate to shoot the walker right in the head, causing it to release Clem.

"Come on, Clem, let's get out of here!" Lee said, and the two began running again as walkers filled the area.

"What about Omid and Genevieve?" she questioned while they ran.

"They'll be fine!" Lee replied.

It seemed like the two had been running for hours until they reached an area that was clear of walkers, and they were both glad to finally be able to stop and rest. Lee looked around noticing that there were no walkers or people in sight.

"Goddamn it," he sighed to himself.

"What are we gonna do?" Clementine asked as she took a seat on the ground.

Lee wasn't even sure himself. Omid and Genevieve were now nowhere to be found, and all over a scuffle with some bandits and a weasel. This had turned out to be one hell of a night indeed.

"We should try to find Omid," Lee stated the obvious. "We can only hope that he or Genevieve aren't hurt...or dead."

Clementine looked down solemnly. "Yeah."

"Let's rest for now, Clem. Hopefully we'll find them soon."

The little girl nodded, and Lee took a seat next to her. He hoped that they would find Omid and Genevieve safely, so they could continue their journey to Wellington. But in a world like this, things like that were just wishful thinking.


	7. Reunion, Part 1

Hours later, Lee and Clementine were back on the trail, hoping to find their companion and the baby. It was around mid-afternoon now, and still no such luck. Maybe Omid managed to escape the woods, but they didn't know.

They were in the middle of nowhere, probably near the same body of water they had encountered the night before, with the bandits. Lee noticed a small dock that would be a bit high for Clementine to reach, leading to some stairs, and then he looked down at her.

"Why don't we try moving on up there, Clem?" he suggested. "I'll go up first, and then I'll boost you. Sound good?"

"Okay," Clementine answered with a nod.

So he did just that, jumping up and then lifting Clementine beside him. They noticed that they were along some trail, leading to two paths.

"Omid, are you there?" Lee called, but there was no answer.

The duo continued to walk along the path, side by side, with Lee keeping a close eye on their surroundings. He didn't want another bandit attack to happen, and he didn't want anything to happen to Clementine. It was growing colder and colder with each passing minute, and Lee could tell Clem was cold because she was shivering. He wished there was something he could do to make her warm up, but he knew it was nothing.

"Do you think we'll ever find Omid?" Clem questioned, breaking the silence.

Lee sighed, he didn't want to lie to her. "I don't know, sweet pea." And that was the most honest answer he could give her at the moment.

"I hope Genevieve is okay," she mumbled as they continued to walk.

"Me too, Clem, me too," Lee replied.

Clementine's stomach growled, she was still hungry after not getting to eat that weasel, and Lee was too. Hopefully, they would find some food while they were out here in the wilderness, but there were no animals or unopened cans anywhere in sight.

"Omid?" Clementine shouted out, but once again, the only reply was another breeze of the wind.

"Damn," Lee muttered under his breath. He looked around and saw three silhouettes in the distance, but he didn't know if they were walkers or not. Either way, he decided that it was probably best not to investigate.

It was only about ten minutes later when Lee and Clementine heard some growling noises, and sure enough, a couple of walkers emerged out of nowhere. Lee grabbed Clementine's arm and pulled her away right before one of them could tackle her down, using a small survival knife to kill it. Unfortunately, they were one weapon down, because the knife was stuck in the walker's head and they had no time to retrieve it.

"Run!" Lee shouted. And they did, turning in the other direction, where more walkers were coming out from the shadows. Had something alerted them?

Then, without warning, a walker jumped from nowhere and tackled Lee to the ground, getting ready to bite him. Lee used all of his strength to try to hold it back, but this was a pretty big walker. A frantic Clementine pulled out the gun, but there was no ammunition.

"LEE!" she yelled.

But right before the walker could lean down to bite Lee, a machete suddenly chopped its head off, freeing the man from death. Lee looked to see that his savior was a young man in his mid-twenties, but there was no time to thank him. An older man took care of a couple more with a crossbow. Nobody knew that luck was about to become somewhat better.

"I'm out, let's go!" the man with the crossbow had called out.

"Come on," the other man said towards Lee and Clem. "We gotta get."

Lee didn't hesitate to ask any questions, he and Clementine just took off running with the other two men that had just saved their asses out of nowhere. Who were these people? And why did they save them? Did they have some sort of ulterior motive? Lee decided he'd question them when they were out of harm's way with walkers.

They ran for what seemed like miles until, finally, they reached a clearing. It was there were they decided to stop and catch their breath. "I think we're safe, for now," the man with the crossbow said.

"Yeah, yeah, we're good," the other man spoke. "Are y'all alright?" he continued to talk, looking over at Lee and Clem.

Lee nodded. "Yeah, I think we're good. Thanks for saving us."

"Well, it ain't often you see survivors around here," the man shrugged.

"I guess you're right," Lee nodded. "I'm Lee, and this is Clementine." He gestured to the little girl.

"Pete," the man with the crossbow said.

"And I'm Luke," the last man added.

There was a pause, and then Pete spoke up again. "So, are you two alone? Where are the people you're with? Because I don't want them thinkin' that we're doing anything other than tryin' to help you."

"We were attacked," Lee explained. "We were cooking a weasel, and then...bandits showed up. There was another man with us who had a baby, but...God only knows what's happened to them."

"They attacked you for a weasel? Damn, that's low," Luke shook his head. "Well, we're sorry to hear that. But for now, we're gonna take you guys back to our group. Maybe you can recharge at our place for a while."

"Speakin' of our group, where's-" Pete began, but he was cut off by a new voice.

"Where the _hell_ have you two been?!"

There was something very familiar about this voice. "I told you, you can't just wander off in the middle of the..." But at that moment, she stopped dead in her tracks, her mouth dropping open at the sight of Lee and Clementine.

"..._Lilly?!_" It was Lee who finally spoke.

It was indeed Lilly. They had never thought that she was still alive, and had given up complete hope of finding her, Carlos, and Sarah. But here she was, alive and well. Her clothes and hair were different, but other than that, she looked exactly the same.

Luke looked back and forth between the three, and then turned back to Lilly. "You know these people, Lil?"

"I was with them before..." she trailed off. "And you found Clementine!" she exclaimed, looking down at the little girl who wasn't so little anymore.

"I told you I'd get her back," Lee replied with a firm nod.

"Carlos and Sarah are going to be so happy to see you guys," she said, looking over at Pete and Luke. "They're coming back with us, no questions asked," she added, her tone of voice more serious again.

"We were gonna bring 'em back anyway," Pete nodded.

"Carlos and Sarah are okay?" Clementine inquired.

Lilly nodded. "What about Christa and Omid? What about the baby?" she asked, and Clem's face visibly fell.

Lilly noticed, and she actually looked sorry. "Oh..."

"Yeah. Christa had her baby, Genevieve. The baby was fine, but Christa died only a couple weeks later," Lee explained. "Omid changed, a lot. Became real protective of the baby. We were with them for a long time, but we just got separated."

"Jesus..." Lilly shook her head.

"You have a place," Clementine spoke up, trying to change the subject. "Is it safe?"

"Safe as can be," Pete confirmed. "Come on, we'd best get back before the rain starts."

"Sounds good," Lee agreed, and they began their trek. It wasn't a long walk, because the cabin was already seen from a distance.

"Are there a lot of people in your group?" Lee asked when they got a little closer to the cabin.

Luke shrugged. "We are a bigger group, but I wouldn't say there's a lot of us," he answered. Clementine was a bit apprehensive about she and Lee joining a new group because they had just lost their last one. But nevertheless, she was still excited to see Lilly, Carlos, and Sarah again.

"There's safety in numbers," Pete spoke up.

Lee sighed. "I wouldn't say that."

"Why not?" Luke asked curiously.

"It's just...we've lost so many, you know?"

"Don't remind me," Lilly grumbled.

Lee knew exactly the reason for her hostility at that response, and knew that it was best not to push it any further.

"Well, here we are," Pete announced when they arrived, only a minute later. "Oh, and don't be surprised if some of them don't trust y'all. For now, at least."

Clementine noticed that that cabin was somewhat large, and somehow, it comforted her.

Lilly entered the cabin first and went over to the living room to see only Carlos sitting on one of the sofas, reading an old newspaper. Sarah was probably upstairs in her room.

"Carlos," she said, "you might want to come over here for a second. You're gonna want to see this."

"What is it?" he inquired as he stood up and followed Lilly into the kitchen, and to the front door of the cabin. "Lee!" he exclaimed, wide-eyed and shocked. He never thought that he'd see the other man again since they got separated. "And Clementine!" he added, then looked to Lilly. "Where'd you find them?" he asked.

"They were in the woods," Luke answered. "Surrounded by walkers...me and Pete decided to help them out."

"Where are Christa and Omid?" Carlos questioned. He remembered when they separated, they were still alive and well.

"Christa...she got bit after she had the baby," Lee explained. "And we just got separated from Omid and the baby yesterday," he added.

"I'm glad you guys are okay," Carlos nodded. "After we got separated, we went to the train like you said, but it was overrun with walkers. We thought your group was dead," he added with a shake of his head.

Lee chuckled. "We thought you were dead, too."

"You have to meet the rest of the group," Carlos said, and then he looked down to Clementine. "And Sarah is going to be very happy to see you."

Clementine raised a slight smile. "I'll be happy to see her, too."

"I'll get the others," Luke said, and he and Pete walked off. Carlos and Lilly led Lee and Clementine back to the kitchen, where they all sat down at the large table. Luke and Pete momentarily returned with Rebecca, Alvin, and Nick.

"Who are these two?" Nick asked, somewhat suspiciously.

"This is Lee and Clementine, they were with us around the time all this started," Carlos replied. "Lee, Clementine, this is Rebecca, Alvin, and Nick."

Alvin nodded politely, but Nick and Rebecca still looked unsure.

"How long has it been since you've seen them?" Rebecca inquired. "For all we know, they could be working for Carver."

"Who's Carver?" Clementine asked.

Luke shook his head. "Rebecca, why would Carver have a little girl workin' for him?"

Rebecca was about to open her mouth to say something when the kitchen door opened once again.

"Dad, do we have any more-" But Sarah cut herself off and stopped dead in her tracks when she noticed Clementine and Lee sitting at the table, making her many questions finally answered. She gasped, gawking at them for a minute, before smiling widely and running over to Clementine first, engulfing her in a hug.

"Clementine! And Lee! You're alive! How...how did you find us?" she asked excitedly, looking from her dad, to Lee, and to Lilly.

"We didn't find you, Lilly, Pete, and Luke found us," Clementine replied with a small smile.

"I'm so glad you're okay!"

Carlos chuckled. "Why don't you two girls go upstairs and play so the adults can talk?" he asked.

Clem looked over to Lee hesitantly, as if asking for permission. "Go on, Clem, it's okay," Lee told her.

"Come on, Clem, I'll show you my room!" Sarah said, grabbing Clementine's hand and pulling her upstairs.


	8. Reunion, Part 2

While the two girls went upstairs to catch up, Carlos, Lee, and Lilly sat down at the small kitchen table, while the rest of the adults in the cabin, Luke, Pete, Nick, Alvin, and Rebecca, went about their business. No doubt they would probably question Lee later, about his motives and whatnot, but Lee didn't blame them. He knew they just wanted to stay safe. But deep down, he hoped that the rest of the group would let he and Clementine stay here in the cabin, where they were safe.

"This feels so unreal," Lilly started the conversation. "I've spent all this time thinking you were dead."

"Yeah," Carlos agreed. "It's like you're back from the dead."

"I didn't think we'd find you guys again," Lee admitted, shaking his head. "Right when we thought we lost our last group member, too."

"Sarah always asked about you, you know," Carlos told him. "You and Clementine, and the others; if you were still alive." He paused. "Lee, if you don't mind, do you think you could tell us what's happened to you?"

Lee shrugged. "You guys haven't missed much, honestly," he said. "Christa gave birth to her baby a few weeks early, it was a girl. Her name was Genevieve. But walkers attacked us, not long after..."

"And that's when Christa..." Lilly spoke up.

Lee nodded. "I had to put her down, so that Omid didn't have to. He became real protective of his daughter afterwards, and never let her out of his sight. He was always afraid that something would happen to her if he turned away even for a minute."

Carlos could easily understand this, he was almost the exact same way with Sarah.

"Then, we found a map to a place called Wellington, but we lost it during a bad storm," Lee continued. "We've been lost ever since. Last night only took a turn for the worst."

"What happened?" Lilly asked.

"We stopped walking to make camp, and we tried to build a fire, but it was raining...Omid went off with Genevieve to find more firewood, and that's when we were attacked by bandits. We escaped, but Clem and I couldn't find Omid after that. He might not even be alive..." Lee trailed off, explaining what had happened the previous night.

"Maybe we can go out and look for him?" Carlos suggested.

Lee nodded. "What about you guys, what happened?" he asked.

"Well, we went back to the train like you told us to, but there were so many walkers, so we thought that they had gotten to you guys, or chased you off," Carlos explained. "Lilly and I decided that we shouldn't stay in Savannah, so we left knowing that big cities were dangerous," he continued.

"We kept walking, with really no destination in mind until we found the RV again, it had a little bit of gas in it, so we decided to use it," Lilly jumped into the conversation. "It was safer than being out in the open."

"That's smart," Lee praised.

He could have sworn that he saw Lilly smirk for just a second. "We were able to find a few more cans of gas at my old air force base, but we still weren't on the road for too long afterwards," she explained.

Then, her expression grew dark. "A woman eventually found us, and offered to bring us back to where she was staying, with other survivors. I knew that we should have never trusted that fat bitch."

Lee raised an eyebrow. "Is this where 'Carver' comes in?"

Here, Carlos nodded. "The camp was safe, for awhile. But then...everything changed. It's a long story, Lee. I had to get Sarah out of there; it was too dangerous an environment for her to be around."

"Made us work like we were in a fucking concentration camp," Lilly added, glaring at nothing in particular.

"That's where you met the others, right?" Lee asked.

Carlos nodded. "Yeah, they wanted out too, and without Luke's help, we might not have ever made it out of there alive."

"And then we found this cabin," Lilly said. "It's safe enough for now, we've got plenty of supplies."

"And with Rebecca's baby on the way, we needed a safe place to stay," Carlos added once more.

"Do you think everyone will be okay with Clem and I staying here?" Lee inquired. He hated intruding on other people, but he and Clem were kind of desperate at the moment, and they needed someplace safe to stay, with supplies and protection.

Lilly shrugged. "I'm not sure."

Lee couldn't help but be curious on one more thing. "Does Sarah still know how to protect herself?" he asked Carlos. "Uh, I don't mean to sound like a critic."

"I try to keep her away from guns as often as I can, but she has her own, just in case," Carlos explained. "She may still be apprehensive around them every once in a while, but please remember that she's different; she is not like Clementine."

"We've gotten out of a few tough situations thanks to her," Lilly added, smiling just a bit.

Meanwhile, Clementine and Sarah were upstairs in Sarah's room, talking to one another as the rain could be heard on the roof.

They were filling each other in on what the other had missed since they'd been separated for that short amount of time. Sarah was practically bubbling with excitement, because she had her friend back. The cabin had often gotten lonely, and her dad always made her go to her room and be alone. But now with Clementine here, she wouldn't be alone anymore. She'd have someone to talk to and play with beside Luke and Nick, who really didn't like playing with her all that much.

"I have so much I need to tell you, Clem!" Sarah exclaimed excitedly. "It's so good to have you back."

"I know," Clementine agreed. "I was worried about you."

"Yeah, I was worried about you, too," Sarah replied.

"How are you? Do you like this place?" Clementine inquired.

Sarah nodded. "It's way better than the place we came from before. It's safer here. Daddy said that no bad people can get us here."

"That's good," Clementine smiled.

"Clem, why weren't Omid and Christa with you?" Sarah questioned. "Did something happen? Is their baby okay?"

Clementine was unsure if she should tell Sarah, since there was a chance that she could get in trouble with Carlos. But it probably didn't matter. "Christa's dead. We were with Omid and the baby for a while, but then we got separated. We don't know where they are now."

"That's awful!" Sarah gasped.

Clementine nodded and decided to change the subject. "What about you? You said you had a lot to tell me."

Sarah nodded vigorously. "When we left Savannah, we walked for a really long way. The only time Lilly let us stop was to sleep, but I don't think she really slept much. We found the RV, and it still worked. Dad had to make Lilly sleep because she would yell at him that she was fine, but she wasn't."

"Yeah, after...you know," Clementine answered, referring to Larry's death.

"Yeah...Lilly can still be bossy, but don't tell her I said that!" Here, Sarah placed a finger to her lips and lowered her voice.

Clementine couldn't help but laugh slightly. "It's okay, I won't tell her. I figured she'd still be the same, if not worse."

Sarah shrugged. "She's gotten a little bit better, Dad's been trying to help her. I think it's just hard for her, you know, with there being more people in the group," she explained. "When we were at Carver's, he and Lilly argued a lot."

"Carver's?" Clem questioned.

"It was the place we were at before we moved here. I didn't like it there, though, he was mean to us," she told Clementine. "Daddy told me that he was a bad person, and that I'd never have to see him again."

"That's good," Clementine nodded.

"And I just had a birthday!" Sarah exclaimed once more.

"Really?" Clem inquired. "How old are you? I'm eleven now."

"Fifteen," Sarah answered simply. "I don't feel any older, though."

"Yeah," Clem agreed. "Me either."

A loud crack of thunder could be heard, which made Sarah jump a bit. It seemed like Clementine and Lee had reunited with their friends at exactly the right time. Clementine placed her hand on top of Sarah's for reassurance.

"Sorry," Sarah said sheepishly.

"It's okay."

Just then, someone knocked on the door, and Luke entered. "Clementine, there's some food for you downstairs, if you're hungry. Lee's there, too."

Clementine stood from the bed, and looked to Sarah.

"Go on, Clem," Sarah waved her off. "You and Lee probably haven't eaten in ages. Maybe I can ask Dad if you can sleep up here tonight. It'll be like a sleepover!"

"Sure," Clementine smiled.

"We're still friends, right?"

"Yeah, definitely." Then, Clementine followed Luke downstairs, where Lee was waiting.

"Hey, sweet pea, you and Sarah catch up okay?" Lee inquired as he saw Clementine walk into the kitchen.

Clementine nodded. "Yeah, she really missed me."

Lee chuckled. "So, how do you like it here so far?" he questioned as Clem sat next to him at the table where her bowl of food was waiting for her. It looked like oatmeal or something like that, but she didn't care; she was starving, and warm food smelled so good to her at this very moment.

"I like it," Clem said. "It seems safe."

"Would you like to stay here?" Lee asked. "Carlos is going to let us."

"Yeah," she nodded. "Sarah needs me."

Lee chuckled again. "Okay, then we'll stay."

It was only a few moments later when the kitchen door opened again, and this time, it was Rebecca.

"Oh, you two are still here," she said, obviously not very happy about that. She walked over to the kitchen sink and started washing her hands. "I wouldn't get comfortable if I were you."

"Carlos invited us to stay," Lee informed her, frowning.

"Good for him. But that's not how things work around here. We make decisions as a group. And you're both wearing out your welcome. I don't give a damn what Carlos or Lilly says, or how long they've known you."

Lee didn't like this woman's tone of voice, or the attitude she was giving him and Clem, but he wanted to be polite to her nonetheless. Making enemies already wouldn't be a wise thing to do. "Rebecca, I think Clementine and I could be useful to your group," he said, looking over to her.

"Hm," she scoffed, before leaving the kitchen.

Clementine turned to Lee. "She's mean," she stated the obvious.

Lee chuckled. "I know, Clem, but Carlos and Lilly will do something about it. Don't worry too much."

"Okay," she said and continued eating, growing sleepy from the day's events.

"I hate to interrupt anything," Pete stated as he walked into the kitchen, "but I'm out there standing watch, and I can't help but noticed that this place is lit up like a goddamn beacon in the middle of the woods. We should all turn in soon."

"That's fine, we're nearly done here anyway," Lee answered with a shrug.

"And get your winks in while you can, 'cause we're goin' fishing at first light. Maybe catch some fresh brookies for dinner, wouldn't that be nice." Here, he smiled and saw himself out.

Lee smiled a bit himself, Pete seemed like a pretty trustworthy guy so far. He turned and looked to Clementine, who was finishing up the last of her oatmeal and looking rather tired. "Why don't you go on to bed, Clem? They probably want us up early tomorrow."


	9. Chaos At The Stream

The next morning, Lee and Clementine were on their way to the stream with Pete and Nick, they were going fishing, as Pete had said the previous night. They had left early, too, before some of the group had even woken up.

Pete, Lee, and Clementine had gotten tired of waiting on Nick, so they had continued on without him. The men were carrying rifles, while Clementine had her gun tucked away just in case.

"How're you two holdin' up?" Pete inquired. "I heard you got an earful from Rebecca last night. Once she goes off, there ain't no bringing her back."

"What's her problem?" Lee asked with a frown. "She doesn't seem to trust us, even if we know Carlos and Lilly."

"Well, she's got a lot on her mind lately. Bringing a baby into a world like this?"

Clementine changed the subject. "How far are these fish traps?"

"It ain't much further," Pete said as they continued to walk. He then turned to Lee. "I suppose since Sarah knows how to shoot, Clementine does too?" he inquired.

Lee nodded. "I taught her myself."

"Good," Pete nodded. "That's important nowadays," he added as they passed an old barbed wire fence. "Nick was about the same age as you, Clementine, the first time I took him hunting," he told her as a matter a fact. "Came across this beautiful 13-point buck just standing there."

"What happened?" Clem asked.

"The boy takes his rifle, lines it up like he's supposed to...and then I hear him start whinin'. He says, 'I can't do it, Uncle Pete, don't make me shoot it.'" Pete continued his story.

"Really?" Clem inquired once more.

Pete only smiled.

"Hey!" Nick called, catching up to them. "Why didn't you wait?"

"You want us standin' around while you piss on a tree?" Pete asked, shrugging. "You know where the river is, boy."

He then continued walking, and kept on with the story. "Anyway, so I go to grab the gun out of his hand before this big buck runs off, then BANG! The gun fires. Boy nearly gut shot me. And then of course the buck gets away."

"What are you goin' and tellin' 'em this shit for?" Nick reprimanded.

"I'm only trying to let them know that it's nothin' personal with you," Pete replied.

"Why are you always giving me a hard time?"

"Because you're always giving everyone else a hard time."

"Let's just get to the river," Lee interjected, trying to break up the argument between uncle and nephew.

"You're always trying to embarrass me!" Nick whined.

"You're doing a good enough job of that on your own," Pete retorted. Nick said nothing, only shoulder checking Pete and walking in front of the group. "Leaving us again?" Pete questioned.

"I know where the fucking river is!" Nick almost yelled, and they watched while he walked away.

Pete shook his head. "Anyway, I found that buck later in the season. Shot it right in the neck, and brought it to my sister's, figuring she'd want to freeze some of it. Nick didn't talk to me for weeks." He chuckled lightly and continued to walk, nearing the river by now. "Sometimes you gotta play a role, even if it means the people you love hate you for it," he added.

"That's true," Lee agreed.

"Then you should tell him that," Clementine suggested. She didn't know why Nick was so angry all the time, but there had to be a good reason for it. She contemplated on asking Pete, but figured now wasn't the best time.

"UNCLE PETE!" Nick yelled.

Pete, Lee, and Clementine ran to where he was standing, Pete calling for his nephew in a concerned voice. They stopped and finally saw what he was looking at.

"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph," Pete muttered.

There, along the river, was an alignment of dead bodies. All of them appeared to have been shot multiple times, and Lee, Clementine, Nick, and Pete looked on in shock. Pete walked over and poked one of the bodies with his rifle.

"Full of holes," he noted.

"Who do you think did this?" Lee asked, disgusted.

"Not sure yet, but it ain't your average gang of thugs, that much I know," Pete answered.

"Think about it," Nick spoke up. "You're Carver, what do you do?"

"Who's Carver?" Clementine questioned.

They ignored her once more, which only agitated her. Obviously Carver was an enemy not to be spoken of. "Check the ones over there, will ya?" he asked Nick.

"On it," Nick nodded.

"I'll come with you," Lee offered, "Clem, stay close to Pete."

"Be careful," Pete chided. "Some of 'em might still be moving."

They inspected the bodies one by one, and Lee knew that there was something off about these people. "These people look familiar to you, Clem?" he asked, looking over at the little girl. She only nodded.

"I thought so..." he trailed off. "These were the bandits!"

"Bandits?" Pete asked.

"They attacked us and made us get separated from our friend and his daughter."

"Is that right? Goddamn..." Pete shook his head. He stood up and looked around. "This wasn't no rinky-dink pissin' match."

"What was it, then?" Nick inquired.

Pete frowned. "FUBAR."

He started over across the shallow end of the river, where there were more bodies, directing Clementine to go with him.

"Where the fuck are you going?" Nick nearly demanded.

"Gotta check the rest of 'em."

"What?! Why?!"

"Calm down and think about it, son!" Pete only told him as he got across.

"If someone's alive, they could tell us who did this, maybe tell us where our friend is!" Lee added.

"This is a dumb idea!" Nick complained.

"You know, Nick, I don't like this either, but one day you're gonna have to realize a simple truth!" Pete scolded.

"What, that you're an asshole?" Nick shot back.

Pete didn't hesitate. "That nobody in this world is going to give a goddamn whether you like something or not! You gotta grow up, son!" he yelled.

Lee sighed, he made a mental note to ask Carlos or Lilly about these two later.

"Whatever," Nick said and walked away.

"Come on, Clem," Pete said, guiding her across the river. "We gotta keep look out. Whoever did this might still be out there."

"I'm on it," she said with a nod.

"Be careful, Clementine," Lee chided.

Pete marched over to an impaled walker with Clementine following behind. "They're all the same, all shot to pieces. Hopefully this isn't anyone you know."

Clem took a look, and luckily, the walker wasn't familiar. "No."

"Good," Pete answered. He stepped on the walker's neck and speared it in the head. "You check that one over there. Some of 'em might still be movin'."

Clementine obliged, taking a few steps forward, when she stopped dead in her tracks. She noticed her backpack laying there next to one of the bodies, confirming that these were indeed the bandits who had tried to rob them.

A cough made her gasp out, and she turned to her right. One of the bandits was still alive!

"You were in the woods with us..." she trailed off, realizing just who this man was. "What happened to the man with the baby? What'd you do to him?" she questioned hastily. "Please tell me, TELL ME," she begged, wanting to know where Omid was.

"Please..." the man rasped, reaching to the backpack. "Water..." he barely managed to get out. Clementine refused him the water though. Why should she help him? Hell, he could have killed Omid and Genevieve for all she knew. So she zipped up her backpack, and stood up; that's when Pete yelled out.

"ARRGGGG!" he screamed, causing Clem to look over at him.

Lee had shot a walker that had been crawling towards Pete, saving the older man's life. Pete was crouched onto the ground now.

"PETE!" Nick yelled, rushing over.

"I'm fine, just...lost my footing!" Pete assured him.

"You sure you're alright?" Lee asked quickly. "You're not bit, are you?"

Pete inspected himself, then lifted up his ankle. Luckily, there was no bite, but his ankle was beginning to swell a bit. "No, I'm not, thank God. I-"

"Shit! Lurkers!" Nick yelled, shooting one that was approaching him. Lee ran over to Pete, and began assisting him in shooting the walkers that were approaching the stream.

"CLEMENTINE! Go over to Nick, now!" Lee yelled.

The little girl didn't hesitate to listen to Lee, and ran over to Nick's side of the river like she was instructed to. Walkers were beginning to make their way towards both of the groups. Lee stuck on one side with Pete, and Clementine and Nick stuck on the other side. There was no way they'd be able to fight off all the walkers with as little ammo as they had, so they were separated from one another once more.

"We have to go!" Clementine yelled.

"NICK!" Pete yelled, as his nephew shot some more walkers. He and Clementine were starting to become cornered, so they had no other choice but to run.

"They'll be fine!" Lee shouted, although he was worried for Clementine as well. "We gotta get the fuck outta here!"

At that, Pete began to limp away as fast as he could, with Lee on his trail. Even with Pete's twisted ankle, they seemed to be able to outrun the walkers. Now they just needed to find the others and get back to the cabin.


	10. A House Divided

Clementine and Nick had managed to outrun the walkers as well, going deep into the forest away from the river. Nick had fought as many as he could, and when they became surrounded, he and Clem took off running. Much to both of their surprise, there was an abandoned building there in the woods, so they ran into it, and shut the door behind them. Walkers were pounding on it though, threatening to come in at any given moment.

"Find something!" Clementine yelled to Nick, who looked more panicky than her. He removed himself from the door, letting Clementine hold it, while he went to grab a large box off the floor to block the doorway. When it seemed to hold, the two of them relaxed, and let out an exhale of relief.

"Shit...we're trapped," Nick stated the obvious.

Clementine took a brief look around the shed. "Maybe we can find something to help us get out of here."

"Alright," Nick answered, and took a look around. There were two windows, but they didn't look very safe to escape from since there were still walkers looming around outside. He noticed Clementine kneeling down next to a still.

"That's for makin' booze," he explained. "That rig ain't fit to piss in."

Clementine didn't comment, and examined another box. "This food is rotten."

Nick walked over, and grimaced when he noticed it, too. There was also a shelf full of jars of whiskey, but nothing in there that would help them escape the shed.

"What are we gonna do?" Clem questioned.

"Oh, fuck if I know...we wait, I guess." He shrugged. "Pete and Lee should have been able to get back to the cabin."

"You're right," Clem replied. "They'll bring help." She then sat down on the ground, and noticed if it was getting dark out. If now wasn't a good time to get some rest then, she didn't know what was. Lee would come to her rescue, probably with Luke and Carlos, and everything would be okay. But Nick, he didn't look so good; it was as if he had something else on his mind.

When she woke, it was only because Nick was making too much noise. The sound of shattering glass filled her ears, and she jumped. Clem stood up, and noticed that there were still walkers outside the window. She then walked over to Nick, who was throwing the jars of whiskey up against the wall. He looked drunk too, so Clem only assumed that he had drank a few jars.

"What's wrong?" she inquired.

Nick threw two more jars of whiskey, causing the glass to shatter each time as he did so. He looked to the ground, and finally muttered, "I had to kill my mom." When Clementine looked at him in confusion, he continued, "That sounds weird when I say it out loud, huh?"

He stared down at a half-empty jar of whiskey. "Luke always used to push me; I never wanted to go into business with him," he rambled. "I remember when he sold me on it. His big plan. Some fuckin' plan. A case of beer in, he just said, 'Nick, we're burnin' daylight.' And that was that. After six months, we were flat broke, but I didn't care. We were having fun."

Clementine didn't fully understand where he was coming from, or why he was acting like this. She only sat in front of him now, listening to him talk.

Nick took a drink before continuing once more. "I wish I was like him. I wish I could just keep movin' all the time. I'm just not...built like that. Everyone I grew up with, it all...happened to them. And now, it's gonna happen to us."

"We'll make it," Clementine assured him.

Nick scoffed. "We'll just keep on movin', go to a new place, and somebody else will die." He paused, holding up another jar. "Hey, kid, have a drink with me."

"I don't think Lee would like that very much," Clementine replied.

Nick shrugged. "Suit yourself, then." He then took another drink, then looked back up at Clementine, "So when do you think they're coming?" he asked. "Maybe we should just run for it," he suggested.

Clementine shook her head. "Lee's coming, I know he is."

Back at the cabin, Pete and Lee had just arrived, and the others in the cabin were up waiting for them.

"What the fuck happened?" Lilly questioned.

"We got attacked, down at the stream!" Lee replied. "We have no idea where the fuck Clementine and Nick are. Walkers cornered them, they had to run." You could clearly hear the worry in his voice, as Clementine's safety was his number one priority.

"Shit, are you serious?" Alvin asked.

"We gotta find them, they could be anywhere!" Luke cried, worried for his friend. "It's been hours."

"You can't find anything at this hour, it's too dangerous!" Rebecca protested.

"My nephew's out there," Pete disagreed. He frowned, closing his eyes for a minute. "Shit."

"Pete, you won't be able to get very far on your ankle," Lee pointed out. "You might want Carlos to look at it."

"I'll go get him, he's upstairs with Sarah," Lilly replied, turning and heading upstairs.

"Well, I don't give a shit what time it is," Luke interrupted. "I'm going out there to find Nick, and I think Lee wants to go find Clem." He looked over at the man, and he nodded.

"Now wait a minute," Pete interrupted. "There could still be walkers crowded around those parts."

"That's what I'm saying," Rebecca commented.

Carlos then came rushing down the stairs with Lilly trailing behind him. "What happened?" he questioned, running to Pete.

Pete sat down and propped his leg up on the table, by now it was big and swollen. "Fucked my ankle up pretty bad," he answered.

Carlos then began examining it, pressing down in certain spots, making sure the bones weren't broken.

"Ow! Shit, Carlos, take it easy," Pete warned, hissing slightly at the pain.

"Well, it's not broken," Carlos confirmed. "But it is bruised and swollen pretty bad. You've twisted it."

"Well, ain't that just peachy," Pete grumbled to himself.

"You will be fine as long as you don't move around too much and get rest," Carlos told him.

"Alvin, you can't go!" Rebecca argued with her husband. "They're probably fine, they'll come back on their own!"

"It's alright, Bec, we won't be long, I promise," Alvin tried to assure her.

After a few minutes, despite Rebecca's protests and arguments, it was settled. Luke, Alvin, and Lee would set out to find Nick and Clementine, bringing flashlights and weapons along to guide them.

"Good luck," Lilly said to Lee. "If you don't find them, maybe they'll have come back here."

"Thanks," Lee answered, and headed out the door. He turned on his flashlight and shone it around.

Back at the shed, Clementine and Nick remained quiet, waiting for what was probably nothing now. Nick wasn't drinking anymore, but he remained slumped against the wall.

"Listen, they're not comin' for us," he told Clementine. "We should go. Run for it." He stood up, but it took a little effort since he was still a bit intoxicated. "You ready?"

Clem stood up. "Yeah, let's go."

"Listen, if we get separated, the cabin's only about a half a mile from here," Nick told her. "You can't miss it."

"Okay," Clementine nodded. "But let's try _not_ to get separated."

Nick nodded, and took one last drink of the whiskey before moving the box that was in front of the door. Clementine peeked her head out, making sure the way was clear before they exited the building. She snuck out, with Nick following behind her, and that's when a walker came up beside Nick, and he used the whiskey jar to hit it in the head.

"Ha! Fuck you, motherfucker!"

But that wasn't the only walker, as more of them came out of nowhere from the woods.

"Oh, shit..." Nick ran over to the center, waving his arms. "Hey, over here! Come on, you fucks! Look at me!" He turned to Clementine. "Get the fuck out of here!"

But Clementine didn't want to leave without him, so she ran to him and tried to tug on his arm. But instead, Nick pushed her away and began punching the first walker that came close to him. Clementine had no choice now but to run, having to dodge some more walkers along the way.

She didn't stop running until she noticed the cabin coming into view, and entered through the kitchen doorway.

Carlos, Lilly, and Rebecca were all seated at the kitchen table, but Pete and Sarah were nowhere in sight. The adults' relieved expressions turned to worry - and slight panic, in Rebecca's case - when they saw that it was only her.

"Clementine, are you all right?" Carlos asked. "Lee's not with you?"

"Where's Alvin?" Rebecca questioned worriedly, standing straight up.

"What happened?" Carlos questioned. "It's been hours...where are they?"

"I was with Nick, and we just got separated," she explained.

"By who?" Rebecca asked, worried.

"Walkers..." Clem answered.

"Lee, Luke, and Alvin went to look for you guys!" Lilly informed.

"Where were you?" Rebecca questioned. "Where were you exactly?"

"Down by the stream, in a shed," she answered.

"We gotta go," Rebecca said.

"Hold on!" Lilly stopped the frantic woman.

"My husband is out there!" Rebecca argued.

"And so is the rest of the group," Carlos said.

Rebecca shook her head, "I don't care, GET THE GUNS." Her entire demeanor had changed. Carlos and Lilly walked off, collecting weapons for the trip. Bec placed her head in her hands, "I told them not to go...I said it was a bad idea...damn it, Luke..."

Carlos and Lilly returned a moment later, and Rebecca was handed a rifle. The two women ran out the door, but Carlos stayed behind for a moment.

"Clementine. Can you...can you please watch Sarah?" he requested hurriedly. "She's upstairs, just...distract her. And don't tell her anything."

"Carlos, she'll be fine!" Lilly called from outside. "We gotta go!"

"I'll take care of her, you can trust me," Clementine assured him.

"Good, thank you," Carlos gave her a thankful smile. "You'll be safe inside. Pete's in his room; he got hurt, but he should be okay. And don't open the doors for anything!" And with that, he left the house without another word.

Clementine was left alone in the kitchen, wondering what had happened to Pete. But she figured that she should probably go check on Sarah beforehand.


	11. Uninvited Guest

Clementine began making her way upstairs, hearing slight movement coming from one of the other bedrooms. She opened the door, only to be met with a small surprise.

"Say cheese!" Sarah yelled excitedly, and then a flash went off. It took Clementine a moment to realize that she was holding an old Polaroid camera. "I found this under the house. There was all kinds of old stuff!" she continued, taking the photo out. It showed a startled Clementine.

"It's so cool!" she added, handing her the photo. Then, she offered her the camera. "Take one of me! Come on, take one of me! Please?"

"Sure," Clementine answered, sliding off her backpack.

"Get me in a good pose, okay?" Sarah requested as she handed her the camera.

Clem nodded, and held the camera up, aiming it at Sarah. She waited for the girl to smile. "Okay! I'm ready!" Sarah said, struggling to talk while smiling. That's when Clementine snapped the picture. It amazed Clem, really, of how childish Sarah still was. Had Carlos still sheltered her badly while they were separated? Even after everything Sarah went through? It seemed silly to try and hide her from the real world.

"Good picture," Clementine commented and handed it to Sarah.

"What's wrong?" Sarah asked, noticing Clem's lack of enthusiasm. "And where's my dad?"

"He'll be fine," Clementine went to reassure.

"Are you sure?" Sarah inquired.

"They went to go help Nick," Clementine didn't want to lie to Sarah. "He got stuck in a shed and I was able to run back here. The group went to go get him, though, and Pete's still here, so don't worry," she said to the older girl in a comforting tone. After all, Clem knew how worrisome Sarah could get, and she didn't want to increase the girl's anxiety.

"Yeah, I heard he twisted his ankle, but he should be okay," Sarah replied, but she still looked rather anxious at the fact that her dad wasn't around.

"That's good," Clem told her.

There was a small pause, and then Sarah smiled. "Want to see what else I have?" she asked. Not even waiting for an answer, she reached down and pulled a gun out from underneath the bed. "Lilly gave it to me and told me that I could have it all to myself. There aren't any bullets, though. Dad still doesn't like me being near guns."

"But you still remember how to shoot, right?" Clementine inquired a little cautiously.

Sarah nodded. "Dad doesn't really let me shoot much, though. Only when I really, really have to."

"It's important," Clem said.

"I know. Lilly says that she wants me to be more involved, and that I would be if it were up to her." Here, Sarah shrugged.

"Maybe with me being around again your dad will let you," Clem replied.

"I hope you're right," Sarah said. "Hey, maybe we could practice later!" she suggested, and went to look out the window. "There's that tree over there...oh, hey! I think the group is back!" she said, seeing a shadow of a person walk by. The older girl then walked to make her way downstairs, with Clem following close behind. "It's not them..." Sarah said, afraid of who was wandering around outside their cabin.

There was some movement from outside, which made the older girl tense up. "Clem...I think I know him."

A knock sounded on the door. "He can't see me! You have to make him go away!"

"Hello?" a voice called from the front, knocking a few more times.

"Clem! I can't breathe! I ca-I can't breathe!"

"Shh!" Clementine placed her finger to her lips. "Go and find somewhere to hide."

"Where? Wh-What about Pete?"

"He'll be fine," Clem replied, urgency in her voice. "Now go hide!"

Sarah nodded, and ran off. Clementine, however, walked to the door, and attempted to lock it, but the stranger made his way in before she was able to.

"Hello," the man said, a sneaky smile on his face. He looked older, gray hair and beard, snake eyes, and dressed in warm clothes. His gravelly voice made goosebumps rise on Clem's flesh. This guy had bad written all over him, so just who exactly was he, and what was he doing here?

"Hello..." Clem replied warily.

"How are ya?" he asked.

"Okay...how are you?"

"Well, I'm doin' just fine, thank you," the man answered. "My family and I are set up a ways down-river. I'm surprised we haven't run into each other yet. What's your name?"

Clementine noticed that he had a gun in his back pocket, but reluctantly answered the question...with a name of someone from her past. "I'm...Carley."

"Carley. That's a sweet name," the man commented. "Do you mind if I come in..._Carley?_ I've been out all morning and this heat has got me cooked." Before Clementine could interject, he swung the door open and made his way inside. "Well, this is a real nice place. Is there anyone else around?"

There was a small hesitation, but Clem gave an answer. "We have a big group. Lots."

"Oh? How many?"

"Dozens. They'll be back soon."

"And they left you here all alone? They must trust you." He paused. "Well, I'll cut to the chase; I'm out looking for my people. Eight of them, to be exact. They've been gone a long while, and...I'm afraid they might have gotten lost. Maybe you've seen them. A couple of farms boys and an old man. Spanish guy and his daughter. Quiet girl, bit taller than you. A lady with a sharp tongue. A big black guy, this big." He gestured to his stomach. "And a pretty little pregnant lady."

"That's a lot of people to lose," Clem commented, nonchalantly.

"Tell me about it," he said. "This whole damn thing is a pain in my ass." Without a word, he then walked into the kitchen, with Clementine following behind him. She watched him as he looked around, probably searching for the rest of the group. "It looks like a damn tornado ran through here. Must be like, close to ten people with you?"

"More," Clem replied.

"Hm."

Clementine turned and noticed a knife on the counter, but the man must have caught her, because he inquired, "So, just passing through or you been here a while?" Once again, he gave her a malicious smirk. "Listen, kid, I hope you're not one of those nuts going up north, looking for Shangri-La. Because I'm not sure why you'd move on after finding this place."

But the little girl didn't reply, and tried to sneak glances at the knife. Unfortunately, the man saw this as well, because he picked up the knife first and held it out. "Where does this go?"

Realizing that she had no choice, she answered, "Uh, in the drawer there."

The man nonchalantly walked over and placed the knife in its designated area, and walked out of the kitchen. Clementine followed him, watching his every move. Finally, the man headed over to one of the couches and picked up one of Carlos' shirts.

"I knew a guy that always wore shirts like this," he said. "Doctor."

But before Clementine could comment, she heard limping footsteps approaching, and soon, Pete appeared with one crutch. The man turned around, and after a short moment of surprise, he smirked yet again.

"Peter! It's nice to see you again," he said pleasantly, but you could clearly hear the sarcasm in his voice.

Pete was shocked. Clearly he knew this man. Suddenly, he looked angry, furious even. "Get the fuck out of here, Carver. We ain't comin' back with you."

Carver chuckled. "Whoa now, let's not get hasty. Who said you had a choice?"

"Leave, now," Pete said once more. But Clementine honestly didn't know how this was going to work out. There was no way in hell that Pete would be able to take Carver with his fucked up ankle, and Carver had a gun, while Pete was unarmed. And where was Sarah, was she still hiding?

"Where are the others?" Carver questioned.

"Like hell I'll tell you," Pete said.

Carver shrugged. "Fine, then, have it your way. But I got what I came for, and this won't be the last time you'll be seeing me."

And with a final smile, he turned around, heading for the door.

Clementine walked a few steps forward. "Don't come back!"

Carver stopped, turned around. "You have a real good day now." He continued walking, and saw himself out of the cabin.

"Goddamn it," Pete muttered, going to sit on the couch. He looked up at Clementine. "It ain't safe here anymore; we need to leave. Where the hell is everyone?"

"They went to find Nick," Clementine answered. She paused. "What's he gonna do?"

But before Pete could reply, the upstairs bedroom door could be heard opening, and Sarah walked a little ways down the stairs. "Where is he?"

"He's gone," Clementine answered.

Sarah looked around, before walking over to where she and Pete were. "What if he comes back?" This was a very real fear that she had, especially since Carlos had told her that she wouldn't have to worry about him anymore.

"That ain't gonna happen, Sarah, okay?" Pete tried to assure her, but with Carver's words, he wasn't so sure himself.

"The rest of the group will need to hear this," Clementine added.

Pete nodded, "Yeah, let's hope they get back soon. We need to make a plan," he said, and then looked over at Sarah, who was still looking a bit panicky. "Uh, Clem, why don't ya take Sarah upstairs and play a game or something?" he suggested.

Clem nodded. "Okay. Come get us if the others come back," she said, and took Sarah's arm to take her upstairs. When they got back up to Sarah's room, Clem turned to look at her. "So where did you hide?"

Sarah smiled a little. "Under the bed...and I had my gun, just in case."

"That's smart, you did good," Clementine praised.

"I just...I wonder how he found us," Sarah pondered. "My dad said we'd never see him again."

"It's okay, don't worry about it, the group will figure out how to keep us safe."

"That's good," Sarah replied. "Because I do not want to go back there."

From the sounds of it, and not just from Sarah, this place sounded unsafe and just generally bad. "It's okay."

Sarah smiled at Clementine, feeling slightly better. It was no more than a few minutes later when the girls heard the kitchen door being open, and Lee's voice announcing that they were back.

"Come on, we should go down there," Clementine said with a relieved look on her face, standing up from the bed. Sarah nodded and followed the younger girl down the stairs, and made it to the kitchen at the same time as Pete.

"Clementine, thank God!" Lee exclaimed.

"Sarah!" Carlos added, and both girls ran to hug their loved ones. Nick went over and hugged Pete, too, relieved that his uncle was all right.

The second the reunion was over, Sarah looked down and made the announcement. "A man was here."

"What?" Lilly questioned, her eyes widening.

"What did she say?" Rebecca chimed in.

"It was Carver," Pete answered darkly. "He found us."

Carlos' eyes went wide. "What? HOW?"

Pete shrugged. "Beats me."

"I tried to lock the door so he couldn't get in, but he let himself in before I could..." Clementine trailed off.

Luke sighed. "Well thank God Pete was here...who knows what the hell would've happened if you girls were here alone."

"He talked about you, Dad..." Sarah said. "You're not going to hurt anyone, right?"

"Of course he's not, Sarah," Luke said. "Your dad is the nicest man I know, which is why he's not going to do anything crazy...or not nice, right?"

Carlos put a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "You know these are bad people, sweetie. They will say or do anything to hurt us."

"He said he was coming back," Pete added.

"Well that's just fucking great!" Lilly nearly yelled. "We are getting the fuck out of here right now."

"Lilly, wait," Lee tried to calm her down.

"Lee, you don't know this guy like we do," Carlos said.

"He's a dangerous man," Rebecca said. "And when he says something, he means it."

"We'll be okay, Bec," Alvin tried to comfort.

She sighed, and sat down. "I knew this shit would happen, I just knew it."

"He was scouting," Carlos told everyone. "He was too smart to stick around, but he'll be back with the rest. Lilly is right, we need to leave."

"Right," Luke agreed. "Everyone pack your stuff, we're movin' out."

"Alvin, wait!" Rebecca called as she followed her husband out of the kitchen. Pete, Nick, Lilly, and Luke left the kitchen as well.

"We need to leave now, sweetie, before he comes back with more bad guys," Carlos comforted his daughter. "But it's gonna be okay. Let's just go get your things."

"Why did you leave his camp?" Lee wanted to know.

"Because we had to," Carlos answered. "William Carver is a dangerous man. He's the leader of a camp not far from here, and he's very smart. We were lucky to escape. Look, we're sorry to involve you, but you both will be safer with us. We have to leave."


	12. Five Day Journey

Everyone in the group returned to their rooms, or wherever they were sleeping to gather up their respective items to begin traveling. They grabbed what little food they had left, blankets for warmth, and any weapons they could find. Sarah brought some of her books as well, in case she began to grow bored.

"Is everyone ready?" Luke inquired, yelling up the stairs.

Lilly came marching down. "This is fucking bullshit..." she muttered harshly under her breath.

Carlos came running down behind her. "Lilly, you know leaving is for the best."

"Why does this shit always happen whenever we get settled somewhere?" the younger woman grumbled. "This isn't the first time we've had to leave our safe place because we were in danger!" She glanced at both Carlos and Lee. "Both of you know what I'm talking about."

Lee knew what she meant; the motor inn. He wanted to say something, but it would probably only make Lilly angrier.

When everybody reached the kitchen, Luke glanced around at everyone. "Alright, everybody grab your stuff. Let's hit the road."

The group of ten exited the cabin, one by one, and began walking along the trail. Carlos and Sarah were taking the lead, and Nick was in back with Pete, helping him walk a little faster with his crutch.

Rebecca sped up a little to catch up with Lee and Clementine. "Hey, guys. Sorry if I gave you some shit back there. I'm just a little on edge. It's just a tough time, with the pregnancy and all."

Lee shrugged. "It's fine, Rebecca, we get it."

"Yeah," Clem agreed. "It's okay."

Rebecca sighed. "Hell, if I'm not yelling at you guys, then I'm yelling at Alvin...and then I'm really in trouble." She attempted to smile.

Lee nodded, listening to the woman. "Bringing a baby into all of this..." he trailed off. "Hell, I'd be on edge, too."

Rebecca continued to speak. "Listen, I know you guys did your best back there, and I know it's hard being on your own. Believe me, Alvin and I have been there. It's just hard, you know, realizing how dependent I am on everybody. I'm not used to that, I'm not comfortable with that. I'm supposed to be a mom soon, guess I better start working on my patience. Alvin and I still don't know what to call her, or him if that man gets his wish. God help me," she added.

"Well, Clem and I are here to help," Lee assured her. "And we'll do whatever we can."

"I think we'd all appreciate a little help," Rebecca answered, and went back to walk with Alvin.

"You sure you still want to come with us?" Luke asked.

"Yeah, we're with you guys," Clementine said. She shrugged. "And besides, we've just found our friends."

"I figure we got four or five days to reach those mountains," Luke announced, pulling out a map. "Now, if they're trackin' us, we should be able to lose 'em up there."

"Five days?" Rebecca questioned, shocked.

"It's gonna be okay, Bec," Alvin comforted her.

"We have to keep moving now, it's our only choice," Carlos told the group.

So there was nothing for the group but to keep moving along, walking down the lone dirt path with Luke leading them to the mountains. Clementine, nor anybody else in the group, was looking forward to this journey. Five days was a long time to be walking, especially when it was beginning to get cold. Winter was falling upon them, and Lee wasn't looking forward to that, either. It would be a complete hell to try and survive during the winter, especially with Rebecca's baby on the way.

After what seemed like forever, the sun was finally beginning to set in the sky, and Rebecca was struggling to keep up with everyone else. "We need to stop," Lee stated, causing the group to turn and look at him.

"Why?" Nick questioned.

"Rebecca can barely walk," Lee replied. "And it's getting dark. We need to make camp."

"He's right," Lilly said.

Fortunately, there was a clearing just up ahead, big enough for the whole group to rest. Lee, Carlos, and Nick gathered up wood to build a fire, and after a small amount of effort, the wood began to burn. And this time, it was easier because it was dry.

"You warm enough, Clem?" Lee asked as the little girl placed her hands in front of the fire.

Clementine nodded. "Yeah. Thanks, Lee."

"I'll take first watch tonight," Lilly offered, sitting down on a log.

"You sure?" Nick asked. "I can get it if you want."

Lilly shook her head. "It's fine. You all need your rest, anyway." And she was right. The group was practically exhausted from the day's traveling and whatnot.

"Well, if you need anything, wake one of us up," Luke added, before unpacking on of the many blankets and laying it on the ground by the fire. In a matter of ten minutes, everyone in the group, except for Lilly, was asleep. And it was nights like this, when Lilly was alone, she thought about her father, Larry. Would things be different if he were still alive? She didn't like to dwell on the past, but she couldn't help it.

The woman sighed and ran a hand through her hair, squeezing her eyes shut briefly. Damn, but they all needed a break. A _real_ break.

* * *

The journey continued the same as the first day, and so far, there was no sign of Carver or any of his gang after them. It was the third day now, and the group had stopped for a short rest break, mostly for food rations and for Rebecca and Pete (whose ankle was starting to heal) to rest a bit.

Lee was leaning against a tree with his arms crossed when Nick awkwardly approached him.

"Uh, hey," the young man greeted, scratching the back of his neck.

"Something you need, Nick?" Lee inquired.

"Nah, nah, I'm fine," Nick answered, shaking his head. "Listen, I just wanted to apologize for how we started out. And...I never did thank you for savin' my uncle's life down at the stream. I really appreciate it, man." He held out his hand for Lee to shake.

"Don't mention it, Nick," Lee told him as he shook the younger man's hand. "And don't worry about how we started out, either. It's all over and done with now."

Nick gave him a smile. "Thanks. I'm glad." He gave a final nod and went to check on his uncle.

Lee looked over and noticed Clementine and Sarah talking away as they sat on a large boulder by the river, and decided to check up on them.

"Everything okay here, girls?" he questioned, walking over to them.

"Yeah," Clementine answered with a cheeky smile. "We're just talking about this book Sarah read to me last night."

"I'm glad you two still get along after all this time," Lee replied, thankfully.

"Hey, Lee?" Sarah asked, looking up at the man.

"Yeah?"

"How much further do we have to go until we're safe?" Sarah inquired innocently. "I don't like walking, it makes my legs feel weird."

"Yeah, mine too," Clementine agreed.

Lee sighed. "We don't have too much further," he answered, hoping they didn't have to walk much further himself. "Don't worry about it, girls, just try to stay positive, we'll get to the mountains soon," he said.

"I hope so," Sarah told him.

Lee gave a nod in agreement. "I'll find you both later," he said, and started to walk away.

Carlos capped up the final water canteen and stood up. "Alright, is everyone ready?" he announced. "We shouldn't stay in one place for too long."

The group rose from their spots and continued down the path. The whole time they were traveling, they noticed that they seemed to be the only people around for miles. Could they have finally lost Carver, or did he and his cronies have a diabolical plan of some sort?

...probably not. If they wanted to ambush, they probably would have done that already.

More walking ensued, until finally, they came to a large, rusty looking bridge, over top of a lot of water. Luke pulled out his map to look at it, while Lee pulled out a pair of binoculars to look through to see if he could spot anything worthwhile.

"See anything?" Luke asked him, while the rest of the large group took a seat to rest.

"He better see something," Alvin complained. "We've been walking for damn near a week."

"We've got to find some shelter," Carlos added.

"The bridge looks passable," Lee said, looking through the binoculars.

He looked around some more, until he discovered a large building across the bridge. "There's something over that way; must be that ski resort," he pointed out. After looking around one final time, he noticed something else. "And there's a little house, too."

"How big is it?" Carlos questioned, receiving a couple of odd looks that he didn't seem to catch.

"It's...pretty small."

"We have to cross that bridge, let's go," Carlos said, waving his hand. Lilly walked forward, as if agreeing.

"Now hold on, we can't just go sprintin' across that thing, alright?" Luke told him. "If we get spotted out there, we're gonna be trapped."

"Going around that lake will take too long."

"I know, but I'm gonna sneak across and make sure it's clear before we bring the whole group over. It's better than risking the whole group at once."

"What's your plan?" Alvin inquired.

"Lee and I can scoot across low and slow to make sure no one's waitin' for us on the other side."

"You think splitting up the group is a good idea?" Carlos retorted.

"What else is there to do, Carlos?" Lilly spoke up this time.

"Fine," Carlos replied.

"We'll have a tough time covering you from back here, though," Alvin chimed in.

"Well, we'll just turn back if it gets hairy," Luke shrugged.

He gestured Lee along, and the two of them walked off. "Sorry, you know. Hope you don't mind; I just think this is safer."

"You're probably right," Lee agreed. He frowned. "It's been five days. Why would Carver still be following us?"

Luke paused. "What's the most important thing in this world?" he randomly questioned. "What's the one thing that a person would travel hundreds of miles to get back?"

"It's family," Lee answered immediately. That much, he knew.

"That's right, family's important nowadays."

Lee agreed. "It's a tough world out there without people you can trust..." he trailed off. "But what's that got to do with anything?" Lee inquired.

Luke shook his head. "You can ask Rebecca, I'm not getting into it," he said. "But we all make mistakes, you know? Done things we regret."

Lee chuckled. "Don't I know what that's like." They didn't talk anymore, because they were at the entrance of the bridge, where two walkers seemed to be hanging around. Luke was ready to grab the machete on his back at any moment. "We can't shoot them," Lee said, "It'll cause too much noise."

"Hm."

"Let's take 'em," Lee looked over at Luke. "There's only two."

"I like your style," Luke agreed.

"I've got the big one," Lee volunteered. "You can get the small one."

"Well, alright," Luke replied after a short hesitation. The two men quietly snuck over to the walkers, ready to attack. Luke chopped the smaller walkers head in half, while Lee slammed his meat cleaver into the larger one as hard as he could, sending it down in one blow.

Luke nodded in approval, and the two began walking across the bridge, hoping to make it across unscathed so that they could signal their friends. But fat chance of that happening when they heard more walkers from a distance.

"Shit," Luke swore. The two men removed their weapons once again, but suddenly, Luke fell through the center of the bridge, holding onto some railings for dear life.

"Luke!" Lee yelled.

"Lee! I'm okay, I just...behind you!" Luke cried, warning Lee of even more walkers.

"Oh, shit," Lee muttered, and stood up to use his meat cleaver. He took both of them out, the same way he took out the final walker in the Savannah horde when he was going to rescue Clementine.

Once he managed to kill the walkers, he grabbed a long stick like object to pull Luke up. "You okay?" Lee asked, looking over at the other man, who was trying to catch his breath.

"Yeah, thanks, man," Luke said. "Let's keep going." The two men continued to walk, until Luke came to an abrupt stop. "You see him?" he asked.

"Yeah," Lee nodded, as he saw the man approaching them from the other side of the bridge.

"Just play it cool, you do the talking," Luke said.


	13. Another Familiar Face?

The man with the rifle kept walking, finally stopping about several yard away from Luke and Lee.

"Well, who are you?" he called.

"I'm Lee, and this is Luke!" Lee answered, deciding to try and make things as civil as possible. The last thing he wanted was for anyone in their group to wind up dead.

"Lee and Luke," the man said, probably to get a walked a little closer. "Huh. You don't look like assholes. _Are_ you assholes?"

"I'm not an asshole," Lee replied, crossing his arms.

"What, you callin' _me_ an asshole?" Luke joked.

"Are you heading up north, like everyone else?" the man inquired, finally walking to stand right in front of them. "I see at least one group a day walk through here."

Luke shrugged. "We're just tryin' to find some shelter."

The man shook his head. "Well, I gotta say, you guys look like shit. If you need food, I've got a few cans in that station back there."

"That's very kind of you," Lee replied.

"What's the catch?" Luke questioned, suspiciously.

"No catch, I've got plenty." The man smiled.

"Well, alright then," Luke smiled in return. "Thank you."

"Hey, no problem," the man responded. "Nice running into friendly faces out here. Like I said, I've got food and supplies back in the station. And if you want..." He paused, and his eyes widened at something behind them.

Lee and Luke turned around to find Nick quickly walking on the bridge, holding his rifle. He stopped, and pointed it right at the man. The man did the same, pointing it back.

"No, stop! He's with us!" Luke shouted, holding his hands up. He turned around and waved his arms at Nick. "NICK, NO!"

Lee did the same, running a little closer. "DON'T SHOOT, HE'S FRIENDLY!"

Apparently, that seemed to do the trick, as Nick lowered his rifle as well. He marched over to where the three of them were standing. "I thought y'all were in trouble! Who the hell is this?"

"He wants to help us," Lee told him. He glanced back at the stranger. "It's okay, we're all friendly."

"You have a very large group," the man commented, as the rest of the group slowly crossed the bridge.

Lee rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, that's why it's a little difficult for us to find shelter."

The man outstretched his hand towards Luke. "Well, you all seem friendly enough. My name's Matthew."

"Luke," Luke introduced while shaking Matthew's hand.

"And I'm Lee," Lee shook his hand as well.

"Nick," Nick said, keeping his hand to himself. As they all finished their introductions to one another, the rest of the group was approaching, and Matthew was shocked at how many survivors there actually were. He had never seen a group that big before.

"You have a pregnant woman with you?" he inquired, turning back to Luke. Luke merely nodded, and waited for the group to catch up.

"What the fuck is going on?" Lilly asked rudely.

"Lilly, everyone, this is Matthew," Lee introduced, gesturing over to said man. "He said he would help us."

"Help us how?" Pete wanted to know.

"I've got food and supplies, and my group and I are staying in that ski lodge back there," Matthew explained. "It's large enough for all of you, and if you want, you can stay there, at least for the night. We've had many groups come and go."

"So you just let strangers stay with you?" Rebecca inquired with a frown. By now, they were across the bridge and were now beside the small house.

"If they need to, yes," Matthew explained. "Wait here. I can go get the supplies, and then I can take all of you up to the lodge."

He walked off then, disappearing into the building. The group decided to sit around and rest until he came out, clearly exhausted from walking all that way. Lilly approached Lee and crossed her arms.

"How the hell do you know that we can just trust this guy?" she demanded. "For all we know, there could be an entire gang of people waiting to kill all of us!"

"Calm down, Lilly," Lee retorted. "This guy could have killed me and Luke at the bridge, but he didn't. That's got to count for something. And he's giving us food. Let's not jump to conclusions already," Lee tried to defend.

Lilly scowled. "Lee, if you're wrong about this, I swear to God..." she grumbled, before walking off to go check on Sarah and Clementine.

"I should have shot at him..." Nick grumbled.

Pete smacked the back of his head. "Boy, you and that trigger finger..."

"I'm pretty sure we outnumber them," Luke told Pete. "He was surprised at our numbers."

"We'll just have to be careful," Carlos suggested. "Anything has got to be better than Carver's place."

"And Rebecca needs a place to rest," Alvin chimed in. "And so do the kids."

A few moments later, Matthew returned with some cans of food, and he now had a survival knife attached to his belt. "Well, come on, everybody," he said, ready to guide the group along. "Daylight's burnin'. I don't want to keep Walt waiting any longer than I already am." He chuckled, then set off.

The group stood up and began to follow Matthew, although some were more reluctant than others. They climbed a tall hill to get to the ski lodge, which looked even bigger when you got close to it. Matthew opened up the entrance and led everyone inside.

A somewhat large man with a red sweater appeared then. His name was Walter, and he looked relieved and happy at Matthew's return.

"Matt! Glad to see you've made it back safe," he greeted, giving Matthew a quick hug. He then noticed all of the people behind them. "Ah, well, I see we have a full house of guests tonight. Please, make yourselves at home. Why don't you put down your weapons?"

Nick looked over at the man suspiciously. "I'm holdin' onto my rifle, thanks."

"You're our guests here, there's no need to worry," Walter reassured.

Pete glared over at Nick. "Do what he said, boy. It's safe here." The two stared at each other for a few brief moments, and Nick finally gave in, setting his gun down on the small bench by the door. Once his weapon was down, everyone else followed suit and put their belongings down as well.

Walter smiled. "I'm going to go get dinner started. Matt, why don't you introduce our guests to the others?" he suggested.

"Ah, right!" Matthew said. "I'll be right back," he said to the group before turning and walking up the stairs. Lee wondered just how many others there were going to be. And while Matthew was gone, the group took this time to look around the ski lodge. It was huge, and nice, and looked quite homey. And Lilly didn't know how the hell they did it, but they had electricity. There were twinkly lights, and a fireplace, and plenty enough room for everyone.

"Look! A Christmas tree!" Sarah exclaimed, pointing over in the corner.

"Wow," Clem mused. It had been forever since she had seen one of those things. So far, the ski lodge was looking to be a fitting place.

Suddenly, Matthew and some other people's footsteps could be heard coming back down the stairs, and some very loud and obnoxious laughter. Lee couldn't quite put his finger on it, but it sounded so familiar to him, almost like déjà vu.

Matthew came over to the group, followed by a woman who looked to be in her mid-thirties...and a _very_ familiar-looking man. The man that matched the laugh.

How the hell was he still alive? Hadn't he died in that alley, along with Ben?

"Everybody, this is Sarita, and that's-"

"_Kenny?!_" Lee cut Matthew off, stepping forward. His eyes widened, and his mouth dropped. There was absolutely no way. He was supposed to have died, but here he was, alive and well. And he had a long beard now, which was graying.

Kenny turned, and he had the same reaction. "Lee?"

Clementine came forward as well, and smiled up at Kenny. She was just as surprised, yet she was happy. Kenny's jaw practically touched the ground when he saw her. "_Clementine?_"

Clementine ran over and embraced Kenny in a hug, which Lee did the same, patting the other man's back.

"You guys know each other?" Luke questioned the obvious.

"We knew him, too," Carlos pointed out, as he, Sarah, and Lilly stepped forward.

Kenny let go of Lee and Clementine and turned his attention to the others, giving a slight laugh. "Well, holy shit!"

"We all thought you were dead..." Carlos trailed off.

Kenny laughed. "Hell, I thought I was, too."

Matthew smiled. "So, it's a small world after all..."

Sarita stepped forward. "If you will all follow me, I'll show you where you can sleep." She then turned to Kenny. "And you go ahead and catch up with your friends, Kenny," she said, before leading Pete, Luke, Nick, Alvin, and Rebecca up the stairs. There were lots of beds at the ski lodge, and Alvin was glad Bec would have a comfy place to sleep tonight.

Kenny motioned for Lilly, Lee, Carlos, Sarah, and Clem to follow him. "Come on, y'all, we can sit over here." He gestured to the fireplace and they made their way over there. He turned to look at them, "What happened to the other two? Christa and Omid?" he inquired.

Lee's face grew solemn. "We actually got separated from these three," he said, gesturing to Carlos, Lilly, and Sarah. "Clem and I were with Omid and Christa for a while. Christa had the baby, but then she got bit some time later, and I had to put her down." He paused. "Clementine and I were with Omid and his daughter up until about a week ago, then bandits came and separated us. We don't know what's happened to them."

"God," Kenny sighed. "I wish I could've found y'all sooner. I'm sorry."

"And then we found Carlos, Sarah, and Lilly at a cabin, with the rest of those people," Clementine added with a small smile.

"What happened?" Sarah questioned shyly. "Um, in that place. You were down there, with Ben." Even after all this time, she still missed Ben, having cared deeply for him, and thought about him from time to time.

Carlos interrupted, "You don't have to answer that if you don't want to."

"Dad!" Sarah whined.

"No, it's okay," Kenny said. "You all deserve to know."

"I'm quite curious myself," Lilly added.

Kenny sighed. "Well, after Lee and I couldn't save Ben, I had to, uh, you know, put Ben out of his misery. And hell, to make a long story short, I got lucky, real lucky. It was a damn miracle I even got out of that cluster," he explained. "I spent a long time alone after that...it, uh, it was hard...and then I met Sarita, thank gosh," he finished.

"Sounds like it hasn't been easy for you," Lee said, sympathetically.

"It's great to have y'all back, even you, Lilly," Kenny teased with a laugh. They all knew something was different about him; Kenny just wasn't the same man he was when they got separated. What had changed him? Was it Sarita? Had he suppressed all his previous memories from before?

"Ditto," Lilly replied bitterly.

Sarita then approached them, and put a hand on Kenny's shoulder. "You guys having fun catching up?" she inquired.

"Everyone, this is my girl, Sarita," Kenny introduced his girlfriend. "Ain't she beautiful?"

"Nice to meet all of you," Sarita said in a friendly voice. Her smile was wide and genuine.

The rest of the group came downstairs then, Matthew walking into the kitchen to help Walter with dinner. Everyone who was sitting around the fireplace stood up, and Sarita approached Carlos.

"Carlos, right? Mind if I steal your daughter for a secret mission?"

Sarah brightened, and looked to her father, hoping that he would say yes. Carlos looked reluctant, but complied.

"Stay in sight, sweetie," he told Sarah.

"Anything we can do to help?" Luke asked Kenny.

"Got a lot of supplies outside, could use a hand before the storm hits," Kenny answered.

"Sure," Nick replied, and he and Luke began their trek outside. Sarah passed them, running over to Lilly, taking her arm and excitedly asking her to help her and Sarita decorate the Christmas tree.

"Lee, why don't you and Clem settle in, maybe help Walt and Matthew with dinner?" Kenny suggested, before going to help out.

Lee smiled and looked down at Clementine. "What do you think about this place, Clem? You like it?"

"Yeah," Clementine decided, smiling herself. "It's nice."


	14. The Ski Lodge

Clementine sat with a smile as she watched Walter stir whatever concoction he was making for dinner that night. She didn't care what it was, all that mattered was that it was a hot meal. Beside her sat Lee, and he was watching Walter as well, while Matthew was setting some tables for dinner. "Are you guys settling in well enough?" Walter asked, looking up at Lee.

Lee nodded. "This place is nice, thanks for letting us stay."

"Yeah, thanks," Clem chimed in with a small smile.

"Excellent," Walter replied. "You guys want to help me with dinner?" he asked.

"Sure," Lee answered, looking inside the pot that Walter was stirring. It didn't look too appetizing, but hell, it was food.

"So how do you guys know Kenny?" Walter inquired. "He and Sarita have been a huge help around here. Matthew and I barely knew what to do around here the first week. We were glad for the extra company," he explained as he continued to stir up his pot of dinner.

"It's a long story," Lee began.

"He wouldn't tell us much," Matthew commented.

"We met him at a farm," Lee started. "We traveled together after that, had a really large group, that's how he knows Lilly, Carlos, and Sarah...but Kenny had a family," he explained, looking up at Walt with sad eyes. "They didn't make it, and after that, we got separated," Lee finished his story with a sigh. He had never realized everything that Kenny had went through, or what they all went through.

"That's awful," Walter said, shaking his head.

"At least he has Sarita now," Clem added. "She seems nice."

"That's right," Walter agreed as he continued stirring. "Connecting with people is so important. I don't know what I'd do without Matthew." Here, he gestured over to the other man, who gave a smile in return as he finished setting the tables. Then, he looked over at Clementine. "Gosh, you remind me of my students. It must be hard growing up in a world like this. I can't imagine it."

"It hasn't been easy," Clementine shrugged.

"I bet it hasn't," Walter said sympathetically.

"But we've come a long way, and gotten through everything," Lee spoke up, putting a hand on Clem's shoulder. "You know, I was a teacher, too."

"Really, now? I guess I can relate to someone about students, then," Walter nodded, smiling again. He tasted the food. "Almost done. Would either of you like to do the honor of tasting the first course?"

"Oh, no thanks," Lee shook his head politely. "We're fine until dinner."

"Alright," Walter replied. "Why don't you two explore the place? Dinner will be done shortly."

So Lee and Clementine walked away from the kitchen and back into the living room. Pete was sitting in one of the armchairs, and Sarita, Sarah, and Lilly were decorating the Christmas tree. Seemed like Lilly had been convinced after all.

Sarita was humming some kind of tune, while Sarah and Lilly stuck different colored bulbs on the tree. "Why don't you go join them, Clem?" Lee looked down at the little girl and nudged her. She decided it wouldn't be so bad, so she began helping Sarah put bulbs on the tree.

"I'll be upstairs if you need me," Lee added, before walking upstairs with the rest of the group.

"How are you, Clementine?" Sarita asked.

"I'm okay," she answered.

"You knew Kenny before," Sarita started. "It must be incredible to see him again. I was just talking to Lilly and Sarah about him. When I met him...he was so different. But you must be so glad," she explained.

"It is nice seeing him," Clem answered. "He looks happy."

"The tree looks nice," Lilly jumped in the conversation. "You girls did a good job," she said to Sarah and Clem.

"All it needs is a tree topper," Sarita said.

"We always had an angel on ours!" Sarah replied excitedly.

"I'll go find one," Lilly said, and headed upstairs. When she arrived there, she saw Lee, Carlos, Alvin, and Rebecca talking in a small group.

"It's crazy..." Rebecca trailed off. "Why would they follow us this far?"

"We can't be sure," Carlos answered.

"It's been a week, man," Alvin jumped in. "We gotta be out of the woods."

"We can't be sure," Lee added. "They could be tracking us. We don't know."

"Tracking us? What?" Lilly frowned.

"Who do you think they are, ninjas?" Alvin answered.

"I mean, there's still a pretty big chance that they could still be following us," Lee explained.

"Lee, you talked to those men, Walter and Matthew, right?" Carlos inquired. "What did you say?"

"Nothing important," Lee replied honestly. "Just a little about Kenny."

Carlos nodded. "Either way, we cannot take any chances. We leave at dawn." Then, he went downstairs to find Luke.

Lilly decided to take that moment to find a tree topper in the box laid out by the stairs. There was an angel and a star, along with another ornament. Since Sarah had mentioned something about an angel, she took that one and placed it on the top of the tree.

Sarah looked up, smiling brightly. "She looks so cool!"

"Beautiful..." Sarita marveled. "I used to love this time of year."

"Well, everyone, dinner is served!" Walter said, grabbing everyone's attention. "Come on, let's eat." Clementine hurried and found Lee so that she could sit by him, and Sarah found Carlos as well. As they approached the dining area, they noticed that there were two tables. Kenny, Sarita, Matthew, and Walter sat at one, while everyone else, Luke, Nick, Pete, Alvin, and Rebecca sat at the other. Lilly had decided to sit with the rest of the cabin group.

"Where do you want to sit, sweetie?" Carlos asked Sarah.

"With Lilly," Sarah answered simply, and made her way over to that particular table with Carlos following behind her.

However, Lee and Clementine decided to sit with Kenny, since they hadn't seen the man in a long while. Lee still considered Kenny one of his best friends. "So, Lee, we were just talking...what's the deal with the kid? What's his name? Luke? He in charge? Do you trust him?" Kenny asked.

"Kenny, please," Sarita chided.

"Sarita, we don't know these folks," Kenny replied.

Lee shrugged. "I don't really know if he's in charge. Sometimes it feels like Carlos is, or Lilly, or Pete. But he's a good guy," Lee said. "He saved me and Clem."

"I like him," Clementine answered.

Kenny paused. "That guy...big Al? He said they were on the run."

"Some people are after them," Lee pointed out.

"Well, you ain't gotta worry about that no more," Kenny said with a smile. "They'll go tomorrow and y'all can stay here." He nodded over to where Carlos, Sarah, and Lilly were sitting, and continued, "They can, too, if they want."

"Absolutely," Sarita agreed wholeheartedly. "You guys stay as long as you want."

"They're stayin' for good!"

"We're just tired of running," Clementine answered. That much was true.

"Of course you are, darlin'," Kenny told her.

At that moment, Luke, Nick, Carlos, Sarah, and Lilly walked over with their food, while Matthew, Walter, and Sarita made their way to the other table.

"Hey there," Kenny greeted.

"Hey," Luke answered.

"Hope you like the food. Peaches and beans. Great for nutrition, but not too great on the way out, let me tell you." Here, he laughed immaturely.

"Yes, because that's very appropriate at the table," Lilly replied bitterly, looking disgusted. Everyone else had the same expression.

Kenny laughed again. "Well, I am glad to see you haven't changed much, Lilly."

"Hey, let's not spoil dinner by fighting," Lee chimed in.

"So it's Luke...and Nick. Luke and Nick. You guys sure do look like a match," Kenny said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nick retorted angrily.

"I'm just saying you look like good friends, that's all," Kenny defended.

Luke sighed. "So, what was your plan here? Hold out for winter?" he asked.

"Actually we were thinkin' of moving on," Kenny answered. "Somewhere up north. You ever heard of a place called Wellington?" he asked.

"Wellington? The hell is that?" Luke inquired.

"A place," Kenny responded smartly.

"Yeah, Lee and I were going there, with Omid and the baby," Clementine told him.

"It's supposed to be a big camp up near Michigan," Kenny continued.

"Michigan?" Nick asked doubtfully.

"You got a hearin' problem, kid? Yeah, Michigan," Kenny said, almost rudely. "Think about it. Fresh water, lots of land, and cold ass winters, so the walkers get slow!"

"Sounds like bullshit," Lilly interjected.

Kenny glared at her. "Listen, Princess Grace, I don't know what the hell your deal is, but you're welcome to take right off in the morning!"

"You know what, Kenny? Why don't you go back to humping boats?" Lilly shot back coldly.

Nick could barely hide his laughter as he took a drink of his water. "Good one, Lil."

"Stop arguing, it's not helping anybody," Carlos scolded, seeing that Sarah was starting to get nervous.

"Please, everyone, there's no need for this," Walter stood up and said. "Now look, we've all had a long day. Please, eat." From there, everyone was silent, and began eating their beans once more.

"Pass me that can, Duck," Kenny looked over to Clem and said. When he finally realized what had come out of his mouth, he gasped in shock.

"Duck?" Luke asked. "Who's Duck?"

"Duck was his son..." Clementine whispered.

"Hey, you alright, Ken?" Lee asked, looking over at his friend.

He nodded, and stood up. "I just need a minute," he said before walking away.

"Clementine? Will you help me outside for a minute?" Walter asked, and Clem looked to Lee for permission first. He nodded, signaling it was okay, so the little girl made her way outside with Walter.


	15. This Place Isn't Safe

"I'm sorry about that," Walter apologized as he and Clementine made it outside. "I used to be a teacher. And I remember what it's like to be caught in the middle of two cliques. I suspect they'll find common ground soon enough. It might take time, but that's just how these things work. Everything will be fine."

As they walked, Clementine commented, "I want to stay with you and Kenny. Lee and I, we've missed him."

"And he's missed you, too, I can assure you," Walter replied. They stopped. "They say the world is over, but let me tell you a secret: it's not. People are more political now than ever before. In the end, we can't change the world. All we can do is learn from each other; to empathize from our words. _All war is a symptom of man's failure as a thinking animal._"

He paused. "Steinbeck. Have you read him?"

"No..." Clementine looked confused.

"Well, we'll catch you up on your reading," Walter said. "Matthew's amassing quite the literature collection." When he noticed the downtrodden look on her face, he knelt down to her level, concerned. "What's the matter, Clementine? Is there something you want to tell me?"

"I'm just worried about the people chasing us," the little girl admitted.

"You're safe now. Don't worry, everything's gonna be okay."

"Hey, kids," Kenny greeted as he and Lee walked outside, carrying rifles. "What are you two talkin' about?"

"Oh, politics," Walter answered simply.

"The hell?"

"Being from Florida, I imagine you know all about politics, Kenny," Walter smiled, looking up at the other man.

Kenny shook his head. "Man, I know one advantage of living in the apocalypse is not having to deal with that shit no more." He then continued to walk. "I was just gonna check the windows around back before this storm hits. Give me a hand?"

"Sure," Walter agreed and he, Lee, and Clementine began following Kenny to the back of the ski lodge. When they got there, however, they were all in for quite a surprise, because there was a woman there. She was looking in the windows of the lodge. Kenny raised his rifle, but Walter stopped him.

"Miss?" Walter inquired, startling the woman.

They saw she was a skinny little thing, with red hair, as she backed away from the windows and put her hands in the air.

She looked up for just a moment, making Lee pretty suspicious, then spoke. "Please, do you have food?"

"Are you okay?" Walter asked, stepping forward.

"Walter, are-" Lee began, but the woman cut him off.

"I saw the house, and...I have a family," she said. "We're starving. We live down there." She turned around briefly.

"Of course," Walter replied. "Why don't you come in, Miss...?"

"Bonnie," the woman finished.

"Walt, I don't know," Kenny spoke up. "You just gonna let her in like that?"

"How are we so sure she's telling the truth?" Lee added.

"It's fine," Walter waived off.

"We don't know this girl," Kenny commented.

Walter sighed. "Then we'll just have to get to know her, right, Clementine?" he asked, turning to look at the little girl.

"Walt," Kenny said firmly.

"How much damage could she do?" Walter inquired.

"Check her for weapons," Clementine said.

Lee smiled. "Good thinking, Clem."

"Thank you, really, but that storm will be coming in soon, and I've got to get back to my family," Bonnie insisted.

"I'll just bring something out to you, then," Walter replied.

"You don't have to do that," she said.

"No, it's fine," Walter spoke. "I'll be right back." He then turned and headed inside.

Meanwhile, inside the ski lodge, Sarah was at the window, watching everything go down. She had never seen this woman before, and she wondered why in the world she was outside.

"Dad? Lilly?" she turned and called for the two adults that she trusted the most.

"Yeah, sweetie?" Carlos inquired as he and Lilly made their way to the window.

"There's someone outside," Sarah said, turning to look back outside. "It's a lady."

"Who the hell...?" Lilly muttered to herself as she looked and saw what Sarah was seeing. That's when Walter walked back inside the lodge, and Lilly turned to face him. "Who the fuck is that?" she questioned harshly, walking up to the balding man.

"There's someone outside?" Matthew asked curiously.

"Relax," Walter said. "She's harmless."

"How do you know that?" Carlos retorted.

"She and her family are starving," Walter explained. "She sounded helpless; I feel like I should do something."

"And how do you know that she isn't just telling some bullshit story?" Lilly growled. "You can't just trust every living person that you see!" Here, she squeezed her eyes tightly shut and balled her hands into fists. These days, it was something she did when she was getting angry.

"Lilly, it's alright," Walter tried to assure her. "I'm just going to give her a little bit of food. We have plenty, no harm done."

"Tell that to me again when she comes back with an entire fucking group of bandits," Lilly retorted, making Sarah flinch slightly.

Carlos looked outside, where Kenny, Lee, and Clementine were still interrogating the woman. The hairstyle and build seemed familiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Not yet, anyway.

Outside, Walter returned with quite a large box of food, causing Lee's eyes to go wide in surprise. He handed it to Bonnie without hesitation.

"Here you go, Miss," Walter said kindly.

"This is too much," Bonnie gasped.

"Don't mention it," Walter replied.

"I don't know how to thank you," Bonnie said.

"Just help someone else down the line," Walter added, still smiling.

"Thank you so much," Bonnie gratefully answered. "I'll be goin' now."

"You stay safe," Walter bid.

"You too," Bonnie replied before turning and walking off.

Kenny glared at Walter. "Lee, why don't you take Clementine inside? I gotta talk to Walter for a second."

Lee nodded. "Come on, Clem," he said as he put a hand on the girl's shoulder and led her back inside the ski lodge. As soon as Lee stepped through the door, he was bombarded with questions.

"Did that girl seem dangerous to you?" Rebecca asked hurriedly.

"Did she say who she was with?" Pete questioned.

"What was her name?" Carlos asked, hoping that would bring back something.

Matthew shook his head. "Everybody just calm down, alright? Everything is fine."

"Her name's Bonnie," Lee answered with a shrug.

Luke's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. "Oh, fuck...we were with her before!" He turned back to the group. "Everyone grab your weapons, she'll be back with the others."

There was a bit of pandemonium in the ski lodge after that, most of the cabin group acquiescing to what Luke said. Walter, Sarita, and Matthew, on the other hand, were highly confused.

"Hold on! Can someone _please_ explain to us what's going on?" Matthew inquired, holding his hands up.

"She's part of the fuckin' group that's chasing us!" Nick yelled, putting ammunition into his rifle.

"We NEED to leave! We're not safe here if _anyone_ from that group is this close!" Lilly shouted. Then, she turned back to Walter. "I _told_ you that she was spewing bullshit!"

As if on cue, the turning mill from outside began running at a high speed as the wind increased. Carlos told Sarah to stay inside, and Lee told the same to Clementine.

"That thing's a damn dinner bell!" Kenny yelled, and he, Luke, Carlos, Lee, Nick, and Sarita made their way to the windmill. The lights in the ski lodge flickered, until finally, they shut off.

"Damn, power's gone out. I could use a hand," Kenny added.

"I'll go with you," Luke volunteered.

"I'm going, too!" Sarita insisted.

"No!" Kenny yelled. "It's too dangerous. The rest of you, get this thing shut down!" he ordered before he and Luke took off running in a different direction. Sarita obliged and opened the panel to the windmill.

"Does anyone know how to do this?" Carlos asked.

"I can do it," Lee replied.

Carlos nodded. "Okay, we'll watch your back. Nick, scan the trees with me."

Back inside the ski lodge, Matthew, Walter, Clementine, Lilly, Rebecca, Sarah, Alvin, and Pete were still trying to ready the weapons. They wanted to at least be somewhat prepared if that Bonnie girl happened to come back with Carver, or even more people. Lilly was still beyond pissed, and Sarah was freaking out. Clem was doing her best to calm her friend down, but it was to no avail.

Outside, Lee had managed to shut down the wind mill, which helped a lot with the noise. "Something ain't right," Nick said.

"Yeah," Carlos agreed.

Just as he said that, walkers began to emerge from the trees. Everyone outside got their weapons ready, and Lilly, Walter, Clementine, and Matthew came running out of the ski lodge at that moment, ready to help their friends take them down. Lilly had a gun in one hand, and a knife in the other. She was gripping that to the point where her knuckles had turned white.

"We don't have much ammunition," Carlos announced, pointing his gun out to one of them.

"We gotta get back to the lodge," Nick added. Turning around, he added, "They're behind us!"

Matthew got started by using his own survival knife to take care of the first walker, and then nothing but the sound of gunshots ensued. A walker began sneaking up on Clementine, until Lee noticed and didn't hesitate to shoot it down.

"Clementine! Get back inside!" he called, still not wanting her out here. "GO!"

Another walker tried to get Lee from behind, but the man was once again quick enough to shoot it before it could bite him. He, Carlos, Nick, and Matthew then ran towards the ski lodge, shooting a few stray walkers along the way.

Clementine took a couple more shots until she finally ran out of ammunition, then, she had no choice to run away as Lilly covered her, stabbing one of them in the eyeball and shooting the other.

The eleven-year-old ran back into the ski lodge, while everyone else was just starting to finish up with the walkers.

"Clementine! Are you okay?" Rebecca asked almost frantically.

And suddenly, there were different gunshots heard outside. "What the hell...?" Alvin questioned.

They ran to the window to see what was going on, and sure enough, there were more people out there, and William Carver. Everyone was outside, with the exception of Bec, Alvin, Clem, and Sarah.

"Howdy, folks," Carver greeted, an uncomfortably smug smile on his face. "Where's Rebecca?" he questioned as his people surrounded the group. Carlos merely spit in his face. "It's nice to see you, too," Carver replied bitterly, before punching Carlos.

"Dad!" Sarah yelled, watching from the window, before taking off and running to her father. He hugged her close and put a protective arm around her.

"Inside," Carver ordered.

Another guard, a particularly rude one named Troy, pointed his gun at Carlos and Sarah, as if further ordering them.

Just then, it was none other than Bonnie, the woman whom Walter had given food not an hour ago, who stepped forward.

"It's you!" Walter exclaimed.

For a moment, Bonnie looked regretful, but then, she glared at him. "Keep movin'."


	16. Invaded At The Price Of Death

Carver and his gang led the group inside the ski lodge, while Rebecca, Alvin, and Clementine found a different place to hide. Kenny and Luke were still nowhere to be seen, and Lee was worried about them. One by one, the remaining members of the group, Lilly, Lee, Carlos, Sarah, Nick, Pete, Matthew, Sarita, and Walter were tied up and ordered to sit on the floor.

"Look at this place," Bonnie marveled as she checked out the lodge.

Clementine, Alvin, and Rebecca hid upstairs, and tried to conjure up a plan. But Carver was growing impatient. He moved to grab Carlos, and pulled the man up to punch him in the stomach.

"Dad!" Sarah yelled out, frightened by watching her father get hurt.

"Listen, I'm only gonna ask you once," Carver said. "Where's Rebecca?"

Carlos ignored him. "Sarah, look at me. It's going to be okay."

Carver grabbed Carlos' finger and pulled it, breaking it. "Rebecca!" he yelled. "Our baby deserves to be raised in a place of safety. I know you're out there, and Alvin, and Luke, and the girl. This is real simple; you want this over with, you all play nice and show your faces."

"Don't hurt my dad, please!" Sarah cried.

"Don't look, Sarah," Lilly whispered to the girl.

Meanwhile, upstairs, the others listened in. "He'll kill him," Alvin whispered. "We gotta go down there."

"I can't do that," Rebecca said.

"Bec...the baby...you _need_ a doctor!" Alvin nearly pleaded.

"We have to help Carlos!" Clementine whispered urgently.

"Only way to help him is to do what the man says."

"Where's Luke and Kenny?" Rebecca asked.

Downstairs, Carver grabbed another of Carlos' fingers, and broke that one, too. Sarah was in the danger zone of hysterics, and she couldn't look away no matter how hard she tried.

"DAD!" she shrieked, bolting upwards.

"Clem can sneak out, find Luke!" Rebecca continued.

"You heard him, Carver knows she's with us!" Alvin argued.

"Just stop! Don't hurt my dad, please!" Sarah begged Carver, now sobbing.

"We're goin' down there," Alvin said, not wanting to listen to any more.

"He'll kill you!" Rebecca chastised.

In a great deal of pain, Carlos look up and glared at Carver. "Fuck you," he sneered. Then, he called out, "Shoot him! Somebody just shoot hi-" But he couldn't finish because Carver took out a knife and put it to his throat. Sarah cried even louder.

"Clem, go find help!" Rebecca urged.

"He'll kill him!" Alvin whispered.

"I'll go find Luke and Kenny. Stay here," Clementine whispered, and snuck off.

"Goddamn it," Alvin muttered, and he, too, went over to the window to help Clem sneak off.

"You never did listen," Carver said, pulling Carlos' hair, bringing the knife closer to his throat. "Let's see if this'll get your attention."

Meanwhile, Clementine was wandering outside trying to find Luke and Kenny. She finally located them, hiding out in a small box like structure. "Clem!" Kenny whispered happily. She then made her way over to him. Carlos' screams could be heard from inside, and Clem knew that they were almost out of time. "You all right?" he asked.

"Where's Luke?" Clementine asked.

"Hell, I don't know. He was whining about something or the other so I told him to take a hike," Kenny answered, aiming his rifle at the large window. He and Clem both saw that Alvin and Rebecca finally decided to go downstairs. Carver threw Carlos down, sending him to the floor with a thud.

"Fuck you, Bill," Rebecca said angrily.

"Looks like they've got everyone," Kenny muttered. "Who are these guys, can we take 'em? I've got a pretty clear shot on the one."

He didn't wait for a reply, and fired a shot from his rifle. He hit one of the henchmen, Johnny, clear in the forehead, sending him down. Sarah let out a terrified scream.

Carver turned around, staring at the body for just a moment, before looking at the captured group, his sneaky eyes trying to find a good target. He finally caught sight of Matthew, and grabbed him by his jacket.

"Matthew!" Walter cried out. "No, please, you don't want to do this. Just let everyone go!"

But he was ignored, and Carver pushed Matthew down to his knees. Matthew took a look at a photo of he and Walter from long ago, and gave Carver a menacing, bold glare.

"Go to hell, you fu-" But he couldn't finish, because Carver immediately shot him point blank.

"No!" Carlos and Lee shouted simultaneously, and Sarah screamed again.

"That's for our man!" Carver yelled. "Now you ain't leaving me much choice, but here's what's gonna happen. I'm gonna march another one of your friends out here, and I'm gonna put a bullet in the back of their head. Or you can surrender now. Your choice!"

He walked away just as Kenny fired another shot, and roughly grabbed Pete, forcing him to stand up on his bad ankle.

"Pete!" Nick yelled.

Kenny fired another shot at Carver's head, but then missed, forcing Carver to put a bullet right through Pete.

"No!" Nick yelled. "Carver, you fucking asshole!" he screeched, trying to break free from his restraints.

Carver turned to look at Nick. "I'd shut up if I were you. Wouldn't want to be next in line, would ya?" He then looked around, and grabbed Alvin, forcing the big man forward. It was clear he didn't care who he killed.

"Bill, no!" Rebecca yelled, but was forced back by a gun. "Tell them to stop! Kenny, stop!"

"Tough shot..." Kenny mumbled, and aimed his gun. "What do you think?"

"Don't shoot, Kenny!" Clem chided.

"Well, we can't just give up."

"He'll keep doing this...think about Sarita," Clem replied.

Kenny looked to the ground, as if deep in thought, then finally dropped his gun. "We're coming out!" he called.

He and Clementine walked over to the door of the ski lodge, which Bonnie kicked open. Kenny and Clementine were tied up and forced onto their knees as well, and it was clear that this battle had been lost.

"Where's Luke?" Carver called. After receiving no answer or signal, he continued. "Finally cut and run, huh? Why am I not surprised? I warned you not to follow him, and look where he's led you. But you're safe now, and we're going home. As a family." There was a pause. "Round 'em up. We're heading back to camp."

So one by one, each surviving group member was forced to their feet, with Lee being last. Carver walked over to the door and began leading everyone out, deep into the forest. It was very cold out, and snowflakes were visible.

They walked for awhile, until finally, they came to an abandoned road, where Carver seemed to have left a loading truck. One by one, he forced every single person inside the truck, and ordered them to sit down.

"And don't try anything funny unless you want to end up like your friends back there at the lodge," he muttered, before slamming the door down. It was dark, and they could barely see. Moments later, the truck rumbled to life.

Sarah's muffled sobs could still be heard, as well as Walter's cries. Nick was grieving, too, but he wasn't trying to show it. Both Pete and Luke were gone in a matter of moments, add that to the loss of his mother...he had nobody left around him.

"I can't believe he's gone...Matthew..." Another sob escaped Walter, and Sarita attempted to comfort him.

"It will be okay, Walter, he is in a better place," she said in a soothing voice, but it didn't seem to help much.

"Are you okay, Clem?" Lee asked, turning to the little girl who sat beside him. "They didn't hurt you, did they?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm fine. Are you okay?"

Lee nodded. "I'm just glad they didn't hurt you."

Carlos let out a sigh. "Sarah, please, stop crying, I'm okay...we're going to be fine, sweetie."

She hiccuped. "But your f-fingers...and what about Matthew and Pete? I'm scared, Dad..."

"My fingers will heal in time, Sarah," Carlos tried to assure her. "Matthew and Pete...there was nothing-"

"He fucking _killed_ my uncle!" Nick hissed, more to himself than to Carlos. He slammed his head back on the truck wall, and didn't care at all about the sudden pain it brought him. Nothing hurt more than having no one left.

"This is fucking bullshit," Lilly sneered, trying unsuccessfully to break free of her bindings. "We're all stuck here, tied up like animals, going back to the last shithole we want to be. God_damn_ it."

"Lilly, you need to calm down," Lee chided. "We'll get out of there somehow, but this won't make the situation better."

"And what _will_ make the situation better, Lee?" she retorted, but he didn't have an answer.

"Fighting won't make it any better," Rebecca said, trying to lighten the tension.

Lilly glared at the pregnant woman. "Yeah, well, if you wouldn't have _fucked_ him, then maybe we wouldn't be in this goddamn truck right now!" she yelled angrily.

"Lilly!" Carlos chided.

"Oh, don't do that, we're all fucking thinking it," she muttered.

Kenny sighed. "Well we're stuck here for now, so we might as well deal with it. I'm gonna get some sleep," he trailed off as he leaned against the wall and closed his eyes.

"Yeah, Kenny's got the right idea," Alvin commented and did the same.

Lilly scoffed. "I can't believe you're all okay with this."

"Who said we were okay with it?" Sarita replied. "We are just as upset as you."

"Because you act like it's no big deal!" Lilly turned and glared at her, a fiery look in her eyes. She _hated_ Carver, probably more than anyone else (other than perhaps Rebecca). "In case you've all forgotten, we lost two of our people back there."

"Will you calm the fuck down? I'm pissed, too, but you don't see me goin' apeshit," Kenny spat.

Sarah, feeling frightened again, lay down and curled up beside her father, placing her head in his lap. She had stopped crying by this point, but if her hands weren't tied up, then she would have covered her ears. Carlos probably would have told her to do so, too.

"Just go to sleep, honey," he whispered quietly to her.

"Look, Rebecca's right, fighting won't solve anything!" Lee, always the peacemaker, spoke over everyone. "Now, look, it's been a hell of a day. Just, everyone calm down and try to get some sleep. We can discuss this in the morning."

The back of the truck was quiet then, and everyone decided that it was best to acquiesce at that moment. Tomorrow was going to be another hell of a day.


	17. In Harm's Way

It was well into the next day, around late afternoon, and the group were still on their way back to Howe's. No one felt much like talking, and with good reason. Although, Kenny was also ready to find a way out of here already.

Sarah looked down at her tied-up hands in her lap, getting that uncomfortable feeling. She shifted slightly.

"Dad, I have to pee," she whispered to her father.

Carlos sighed. "We don't have much longer to go, sweetie. Can't you hold it?"

There was a pause, and then Sarah shook her head. Carlos tapped loudly on the wall with the side of his good hand and told Troy that they needed to stop. A few moments later, the truck did stop, and the latch opened.

"Make it quick," Troy demanded of Sarah, untying her hands. "Don't fuckin' try anything." He turned and scanned around the truck briefly, until his eyes met Clementine's. "You. Go with her."

Clementine obliged and stood up as well as she could with her hands being tied up, and followed Sarah out of the back of the truck. They walked into a small part of the woods, Troy standing nearby with his gun ready if needed.

"You 'bout done over there?" Troy yelled.

Sarah approached Clem. "Yeah, one second," she yelled to Troy. "Thanks for coming with me, it's scary out here."

"We're friends," Clementine shrugged. "Friends look out for each other."

"We are, aren't we?" Sarah said. "Well, if you need to pee, let me know, I'll keep look out for you too." She smiled.

"Uh, okay," Clem replied. The two girls then headed back to the truck where Carver and Bonnie were now standing outside as well. Carver was speaking to somebody on his walkie-talkie.

When he was finished, he turned to Troy. "If I find out you've been wasting fuel to keep that fuckin' heater going, I'll make you walk back."

"Nope, froze my ass off, just like you told me to," Troy replied.

Carver then turned to Clementine, who was staring up at him. "It ain't polite to listen to other folks' conversations."

"I'm sorry," Clementine replied, only apologizing in hopes that this would be over with.

"It's alright, honey, we'll chalk it up as a lesson learned, alright?" Carver turned to Troy again. "Tie her up and throw her in with the rest of them."

When Clementine was tied up, the latch opened again, and Troy pointed a gun at her and Sarah. "In," he ordered, and the two girls had no choice but to oblige, slowly walking back into the truck and into their respective seats.

"Are you guys okay?" Sarita asked.

"Did he hurt you?" Lee asked, turning to glare at Troy and Carver. "Hey, HEY!" But he was ignored as the latch then shut.

"We're fine," Clementine reassured her guardian.

"Good," Lee nodded.

"We've been in this goddamn truck forever," Lilly grumbled, mostly to herself, complaining. "The drive wasn't this long last time..."

"Are your fingers okay, Dad?" Sarah asked, changing the subject. Carlos had some pretty nasty marks on his face, his stomach was sore, and his fingers were most likely broken. He was trying to stay positive, though, for Sarah's sake. After all, he didn't want to make her any more afraid than she already was.

"I'm fine, sweetie," he reassured her.

Most of the group was silent, not wanting to start any arguments, or complain. And some of them just didn't want to talk because they were still hurting. Walter missed Matthew terribly, and Nick was still pissed about Pete and Luke. A solemn silence overtook the truck, everyone keeping their thoughts to themselves.

However, it wasn't long before Kenny began speaking up. "Alright, we gotta do something. Come on, anyone got anything sharp? Anything? We've got to get these bindings off!"

"How the hell would we have anything sharp if we had everything confiscated from us?" Lilly retorted.

Kenny ignored her, and turned to Lee. "Lee, I need you to help me find something that could cut these..."

"And what good will that do?" Rebecca spoke up.

"What the hell is wrong with you people? We're in a precarious position here!" Kenny yelled. "We gotta do something about that!"

"Settle down, Kenny," Carlos chided. "Lilly's right, they took everything. We have to keep a level head."

"He's right," Rebecca agreed. "You don't know Bill like we do."

"When we get there, there's gonna be a shitload of people with guns, and we'll be defenseless," Lilly added, seething.

"Bill?" Kenny asked, looking over at Rebecca. "This whole time is Carver, Carver, Carver, and now's he's fuckin' Bill?" he asked angrily. Rebecca looked down, ashamed. "Oh, I see how it is, y'all are just getting a ride home, aren't ya? That's what's going on here," he rambled on, still pissed.

"Kenny," Lee warned, seeing that this was definitely the old Kenny resurfacing.

"Say that again," Nick bit back, glaring at Kenny.

"I'd stay out of this, boy," Kenny retorted.

"Mister, I ain't a boy."

"No...right, you're a man," Kenny said sarcastically.

Rebecca spoke up. "No, you don't understand...he's different, he's worse."

"The fuck are you talking about?" Kenny nearly yelled.

"He's going to punish us," Rebecca said.

Lilly laughed bitterly. "Not if I get my hands on that fucker."

"What do you mean worse?" Lee asked. "Just who the hell are we talking about here?"

"You thought I was bad when we were at the motor inn? Try dealing with this fucking psychopath!" Lilly answered, somewhat harshly.

"You have _no_ idea what you're dealing with!" Carlos told Kenny.

"Oh, he gave me a pretty good goddamn idea back at the lodge, and I don't intend to let that happen to the rest of us!" Kenny said. "I'm trying to help!"

"Yeah, well, I'm sure my uncle really appreciated your help!" Nick shouted, and Walter, who had remained silent all this time, only grimaced.

"That's not fair!" Sarita chastised. "You're blaming him for the actions of a madman!"

"You can't reason with him," Rebecca added.

Kenny looked over and saw something in the corner, next to Clementine. "Oh, shit. Jackpot!" He stood up and went over to look at it.

"Kenny, you're gonna get us all killed," Lee grumbled. "Sit down."

He began rubbing the rope against the sharp metal, hoping to be freed. "Y'all don't know what you're talking about. We get cooped up in a kennel like a bunch of dogs, it's over."

"You don't know that," Rebecca said.

"Yeah? Well I been in this situation before. You ever been a prisoner?" he inquired.

"We've all been prisoners, why do you think we left?" Carlos retorted.

"Stop fighting!" Clem called out. "Please."

"It's okay, Clem," Lee reassured.

Meanwhile, Kenny finally got his bindings free, "All right," he said, rubbing his wrists. "Now we're talking."

Carlos shook his head. "Carver will be on the other side of that door with ten people," he said angrily, causing his daughter to let out a small sob. He looked over and saw that she was trying to hold back tears. "Sarah..." he trailed off, but didn't really know what else to say.

"There, there, baby," Rebecca comforted. "It's okay, everything's gonna be fine."

"Just cut the fucking bullshit, Kenny, you're scaring Sarah," Lilly snapped, looking up at the older man who said nothing.

Carlos sighed. "Maybe at this point, Luke is the only hope we have."

"If he was gonna do somethin', he would've done it by now!" Kenny argued.

"Who knows what's gonna happen out there?" Rebecca said.

"I'll tell you what happened: he abandoned us," Kenny pointed out.

"You don't know that!" Nick shot back angrily.

"We might not know where Luke is, but how do you know he's abandoned us?" Lee added.

But there was no time for an answer as the truck began to slow down. "We're close," Carlos announced the obvious.

"Alright, let's do this," Kenny spoke up.

"They have guns, what do you expect us to do?" Rebecca retorted.

"I'm gonna punch the first sonuvabitch I see. Then, I'm gonna grab his gun and use it to shoot the next sonuvabitch I see!"

"Kenny, please calm down," Sarita begged, "Please."

"Oh, I'm calm, Sarita, I look angry to you?" he inquired.

"Just sit down," Carlos commented, glancing at Kenny.

"Shut up, Doc, this ain't your call," he said to Carlos. Kenny then looked over at Lee. "Come on, Lee, like old times, man; let's do this."

Lee hesitated. "I'm not sure this is your best idea, Ken."

The truck went at a slower pace, and Kenny turned around. "Alright, everybody ready-" The truck came to an abrupt stop, sending Kenny face first into the wall.

"Kenny!" Sarita yelled as Kenny fell to the ground.

Lilly laughed. "Serves him right."

"Lilly," Lee shook his head. "Don't be like that."

"Is he okay?" Rebecca asked.

"I think so," Sarita replied.

"Oh...what hit me?" Kenny inquired.

"Definitely for the best," Lilly spoke up again.

"Goddamn brakes ain't workin' for shit," Troy complained at the latch opened up again. With him was Bonnie and a dark-skinned, overweight woman named Tavia, the woman that had brought the cabin group here in the first place.

"Alright, up and at 'em," Tavia announced, rifle in hand. Everyone reluctantly stood up and walked out of the truck.

"The fuck?" Troy asked, looking at Kenny. "How'd you get your restraints off? C'mere."

"_We've got some familiar faces back with us tonight,_" Carver announced over an intercom. How he got there so fast was beyond them. "_Now, I understand that some of you are confused as to why we'd bring these people back when they left us as they did. It might not come all at once, but time will heal these wounds._"

The group walked into another room, where guards were standing on top of shelves everywhere, holding more rifles. Lee noticed that they were a lot more well-prepped than he thought. On the shelves was enough food to last these people for years.

"_All these feeling you have of anger...betrayal...they're all valid,_" Carver continued. The group could now see him at a window on an upper floor. "_No one needs to forget what they did, but we do need to find it in our hearts to forgive them._"

"Look how much food they have!" Clem commented.

"Come on, we need you for something," Troy beckoned Carlos.

"Could it wait until morning?" Carlos asked. "We're all exhausted."

"Just come the fuck on," Troy answered, and started leading Carlos away. Sarah, however, was horrified, and stopped where she was.

"I need him, I need my dad!" Sarah pleaded. "I-I can't, he's...he looks after me."

As angry as Lilly was, she stopped and walked over to where Sarah was, trying to lead her along. "Hey, he'll be back."

"When?" Sarah asked.

"I'm not sure, Sarah," Lilly answered honestly. "But I'll look after you until then."

"Thanks, Lilly," Sarah replied with a small sigh. They were led to what looked like a large metal gate, and they all knew that this wouldn't be good.

Bonnie knelt down to unlock the gate. "Make sure y'all stay off the fence. Bill can see if you're messing with it."

"Thanks, Bonnie," Nick said, looking over at the redhead. The group then walked into what looked like a small yard, with chairs, and some hard bunk beds set up. It was like a prison, there was no doubt about that.

Troy untied them. "Y'all best get some rest. Tomorrow you're gonna be working hard."

"That's for you," Bonnie told Rebecca as she gestured to a thin cot over in the corner of the yard.

"Yeah, it would be," Rebecca scoffed. "Fuckin' Bill. Keeps me out in the cold, but at least I'll be comfortable."

"Hey, guys," a familiar man greeted.

"Reggie!" Rebecca gasped, but there was one difference at Reggie: He only had one arm.

"Holy shit..." Lilly muttered, and Lee's eyes widened.

Rebecca walked over and embraced Reggie. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry! What did they do to you?"

"This could've been worse, trust me," Reggie shrugged it off. "I'm lucky to be alive."

"It's my fault," Nick said apologetically.

"No, it's really not," Reggie assured him. "This happened well after you guys left."

Sarah decided to explain to Lee and Clementine who this guy was. "Reggie helped us. When we ran away."

Lee frowned slightly. "You know what happened to his arm?"

"I don't know," Sarah admitted. "We were all running out together. But then he fell...and everybody kept running. I know he had both his arms then." She wondered if anyone else had seen Reggie fall when they were leaving.

Tavia came back into the pen. "Alvin, Carver wants you in his office," she ordered.

"What? Why?" he asked.

"Don't make this difficult," Tavia said. "It's too late for that."

"No, please," Rebecca begged.

Alvin turned to her. "It's okay, Bec, just get some sleep. If he wanted to do something to me, he'd have done it already. I'll be fine...I'll just go see what he wants," he said, before turning and walking off with Tavia.

"Hey! Reggie!" Troy called.

"Oh, hey, Troy," Reggie greeted nonchalantly.

"Don't go fuckin' up now. Bill's real close to letting you back in. You make sure things stay nice and quiet out here, and I'll let Bill know just how helpful you were."

"Bullshit," Lilly muttered under her breath.

"Yeah, no problem," said Reggie. "Thanks, Troy!"

"Don't mention it," the other man replied as he walked out of the pen, the latch shutting behind him.

"Oh, right. Let me introduce you," Rebecca told Reggie. "They were with us when we got caught. That's Sarita."

"Hello," the Indian woman greeted.

"And that's Kenny."

"Heya."

"I'm Lee, this is Clementine," Lee spoke up for both of them.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, I'm Reggie." Reggie held out his hand, and Lee shook it.


	18. Slapped

"So, where's Carlos?" Reggie asked, making more conversation since the guards had proceeded to leave the pen.

"Bill's already got him looking at some folks," Rebecca answered.

"What about Pete?" he inquired, and everyone's face visibly fell.

Nick scowled. "Carver fuckin' killed him, that's what." He was still angry. "He killed another guy, too, Matthew was his name," he continued, and saw Walter stiffen at the sound of Matthew's name. It was clear it would be a long time before those wounds were able to heal completely up.

"Can you guys save it for the morning?" a man laying in the corner of the pen asked. "Some of us gotta be up in the morning."

"Who's that?" Lee asked.

"I don't recognize the voice," Rebecca said.

"He wasn't here last time," Lilly noted.

"No problem," Reggie turned around. "Sorry about that." He then turned back around to the group. "Okay, that's Mike. He's kind of a dick when he's tired. But...like I said, he saved my life, so I put up with that shit."

As Reggie continued to talk, a few people noticed a girl with very short brown hair and a scowl on her face, watching them.

Sarah was the one to speak up. "Who's the weirdo?" she asked with a frown.

"Hmm? Who?" Reggie inquired, turning around again.

"The one staring at us."

After this was said, the girl, whom they learned later was named Jane, stood up and walked over to her bed area to go to sleep. The group had never seen her here before, either.

"Oh, yeah, right. Okay, so she's fucking weird," Reggie explained. "They found her outside the fence one day, covered in guts, and just, like, the grossest shit."

"It's probably best not to stare," Rebecca whispered.

"So I know it's probably hard to believe, but it's really not that bad here," Reggie tried to persuade.

"Reggie..."

"No, I'm serious," he tried to persuade. "We have food, security, electricity...it's not as bad as you think. We're really building something great here, guys. Bill is making it happen," he rambled on about the goodness of the community.

"Will you shut the fuck up?" Lilly interrupted, agitated. "We've been in this position before, Reggie, and you know as well as I do that this place is a piece of shit," she said harshly.

Reggie frowned. "I wish you guys could see the good, I really do."

"This is bullshit," Kenny commented.

"Look," Reggie sighed. "I've worked really hard to get to this point, okay? So, just, please, try not to cause any trouble for me, please."

"We'll do our best," Lee said, slightly glancing over at Lilly and Kenny in the process. Those two would be the hardest to control, always the outspoken ones in the group, their opinion had to be known.

"Thanks, it means a lot," Reggie replied.

"He don't speak for all of us," Kenny butted in.

"We can talk more about this in the morning. Let's just have a quiet night and chat again tomorrow."

Rebecca gasped and placed a hand on her stomach. "I need to sit down."

"Yeah, okay, come on," Sarita said, walking over to her. "Sarah? Can you go see if there's something for her to drink?"

"Okay." Sarah walked over to the benches, where there was some water. The group walked away to rest, and only Kenny and Lee remained.

"Man, fuck that guy," Kenny spat. "I don't think we can trust him."

"He's just scared, Ken," Lee tried to assure him.

"Man, we're all scared, it ain't an excuse to go on and act like a nutcase." He paused, and walked away. Lee walked with him. "You gotta take a look around. See if there's anything to exploit to get out of here."

Lee, who didn't want to be here, either, nodded. "I'll take a look around, but we can't guarantee that there's much in here."

"That Troy asshole's gone for now, and don't worry about Reggie. I'll go run interference on him."

Lee did as he was told, and looked around the small yard they were currently locked in. Walter, Nick, and even Clementine had long gone to lie down and get some rest, and the rest of the group were sitting around the fire, exchanging small words of conversation, making sure to be quiet. Kenny was striking up a conversation with Reggie so Lee could get a look around the place.

Lee didn't notice anything out of the ordinary right away as he walked around, so he walked over to the beds to check on Clementine. "How you doing, sweet pea?" he inquired.

"I'm okay," she said, rolling over on the hard bunk bed to face her guardian. "Really tired, though."

"You go ahead and get some sleep, then." He smiled to her. "Goodnight, Clem."

"Night, Lee."

He then walked away, observing the other beds. Walter was already asleep, but Nick was lying there and staring into space. "You okay, Nick?" Lee asked, not wanting to be rude.

"Just thinking about Luke...there's no way he could have just left, no fucking way," Nick replied. "What do you think?" he asked Lee. "I've known him for damn near twenty years now, and I just don't buy it."

"I think you're right," Lee replied. "He'd never leave you guys behind."

"Us guys," Nick corrected.

Lee smiled. "Yeah, us guys."

"Guess I oughta try and get some sleep, you should, too," he said to Lee. "They're gonna ride our asses tomorrow for sure."

"Okay," Lee said.

"Night," Nick turned over in the bunk bed.

Lee nodded, and left Nick alone for the night. He checked on Lilly, Rebecca, Sarah, and Sarita before looking around once more. Unfortunately, there was nothing exploitable in sight, and he had a feeling that messing around the pen latch would get them all into trouble.

He decided to report this back to Kenny, who was now finished with talking to Reggie.

"Well, out with it," Kenny prodded. "Did you see any way out of here?"

"Not really, the fence is pretty strong," Lee replied.

"Well, it oughta be, with Howe's full of supplies."

Just then, the latch opened up, and in walked Troy and Carlos. Luckily, the latter was unharmed, and his fingers appeared to be patched up.

"Dad!" Sarah cried excitedly, running over to hug her father.

"Alright, go the fuck to sleep," Troy commanded. "I'm shootin' the first one of y'all I see wanderin' around before sun-up."

"Troy, where's Alvin?" Rebecca called out worriedly when she realized that her husband wasn't with them.

"Everybody get to bed!" Troy ordered again, closing the latch and ignoring her.

They seemed to listen to his command, because everybody headed to the uncomfortable bunk beds to get some shut eye. Lee climbed in beside Clementine, and that's when Kenny turned over to face. "Some of these folks ain't too keen on getting out of here. It's up to us to find a way out. You up for it?" he asked.

"Of course I am, Clem can't stay here," Lee answered almost immediately.

"Good," Kenny nodded. "Confidence is good. You gotta have the right attitude."

Lee nodded as well. "Alright, you get some sleep, Kenny. I'm sure we'll need it."

The next morning, the group woke up to quite the unpleasant voice of Troy shouting for them to get up. Everyone groaned as they rose from the beds, and Lee shook Clementine so that she would hopefully have a somewhat less rude wake up call.

Clementine noticed that Mike, Kenny, Jane, Lilly, and Walter were nowhere to be seen, so she assumed that they had been called out to work earlier.

No one was happy to see Carver enter the pen, ready to give some sort of speech as well as today's work assignments. "There's been increased walker activity outside the fence, so be mindful when working outside the walls. The herd's moved a little closer, but that doesn't necessarily mean we'll be hit..."

Carver spoke on about redemption and forgiveness, which nobody seemed to actually believe. He had told them many a lie before.

About halfway through the speech, Sarah leaned in to whisper to Clementine. "How'd you sleep? I was so tired."

"Pay attention," Clementine cautioned, not wanting her friend to get in trouble. "We'll talk later, okay?"

Sarah nodded. "I just thought it was finally nice to-"

"Carlos!" Carver yelled, causing Sarah to jump.

"Yes?" Carlos answered.

"Your child seems to be in need of correction," Carver replied, smirking.

"I'm sorry," Carlos said. "Sarah, apologize to Mr. Carver," he said, turning to look at his daughter.

"S-Sorry...sir," Sarah managed to get out, playing with her hands.

"No," Carver said, shaking his head. "That ain't gonna cut it. I can't have this kind of behavior from you on your first day of reform. You discipline her now, Carlos," he ordered, pointing his finger straight at the man.

"How do you propose that I-?" But he was cut off.

"One good smack across the mouth should do it. Make her think twice about opening it," Carver ordered. "Go on, we'll wait."

Everyone else in the pen looked on in shock. Carlos had never hit his daughter before in her life, especially when she hardly did anything wrong.

Carlos tried to find an excuse. "I...with my hand, I don't think-"

"Well, that's why you've got two hands, Carlos," Carver chastised. "And not some namby-pamby tap, alright? A good hard smack. Otherwise, Troy here will do it for you, and I don't think you want that."

"Please, don't! She's already scared!" Clementine jumped in, trying to prevent this.

"Hey, no one's fuckin' talking to you-" Troy began, but Carver put a hand up.

"Unless you want your guardian to do to you what she's about to get, I'd pipe down, missy," he cautioned, which made Lee glare ferociously at him.

Carlos looked down at the ground, already feeling remorse. He turned to Sarah, who stared back up at him with fear in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Dad! I'm sorry!" she cried.

"Close your eyes, honey, it's only going to sting for a second," he said, sadness written in his eyes. She did as she was told, closed her eyes, and looked to the ground. Carlos didn't want to do this, but it seemed as though he had no choice.

"Do it," Carver ordered.

And that's when he slapped Sarah's face, sending her to the ground, crying slightly. "I'm sorry, Sarah," Carlos said, trying to help her up.

"Stop!" Carver yelled. "Don't you coddle that girl anymore! Let her sit there and think about what she's done! Troy, get Carlos to his post. Everyone else, get to work," he ordered before walking away. Everyone else walked to where they were supposed to be, and that's when Tavia approached Lee and Clem.

"You're working in the armory," she said to Lee. "And you," she said pointing at Clementine, "Go help her," she said, pointing at Sarah.

Clementine began making her way towards Sarah, while Lee began following Tavia out of the pen. He was startled when a bag of soil dropped down, the contents spilling all over. Looking up, he noticed Jane grumbling to herself.

"Lee!" Tavia shouted, and the man quickly walked out of the pen.

Sarah's crying was now reduced - somewhat - to small whimpers. There was pure terror in her eyes, no doubt about that. It was clear that she had never been hit before in her life.

Troy came in a minute later, and immediately pointed his gun at both of the girls. He looked down and glared at Sarah. "Quit yer blubberin' and get the fuck up. Bill wants you two brats in the greenhouse." He walked over to the doorway of the pen, waiting for them to get a move on.

Clementine glared at Troy and helped Sarah to her feet. On their way there, a girl about Sarah's age, Becca, crossed her arms and glowered at them. Sarah shrank back.

"Just ignore her," Clementine whispered.

When they made it to the greenhouse, Troy quite literally pushed them inside. "Don't fuck anything up. Reggie will be here in a moment to watch y'all." Then, he slammed the door, leaving the two girls alone.


	19. Abhorrent First Day

In the armory, Lee and Bonnie were loading up magazine rifles. It had been less than twenty-four hours, and already Lee hated it here. The leader was a tyrant, that much was obvious. Now he knew why Carlos and the others had escaped from here.

Bonnie had apologized for the events at the ski lodge, but Lee was pretty skeptical when it came to accepting it or not. If she hadn't shown up, then the group might have still been safe at the ski lodge. Matthew and Pete would have still been alive.

"I was supposed to go, when Luke and Carlos and all of them left," Bonnie pointed out as she loaded up another magazine. "I was plannin' on leavin', too."

Lee frowned. "Why didn't you leave?" he inquired. Surely there was no good reason to want to stay in this horrible camp.

Bonnie shrugged. "I guess if I'm being honest, I chickened out," she answered. "I justified not going by telling myself it's easier to try and change somethin' that's broken than to start all over," she continued to talk. "But Bill...he keeps things in line, he's got a lot of this stuff figured out. I don't know, I guess I just wanted to be comfortable somewhere for a while."

"What changed?" Lee questioned.

"Nothin' changed," Bonnie answered after a short pause. "We've had herds come through before, but we've come out on the other end all right. It ain't easy keepin' a group this big fed and protected. I don't envy his position, it'd make anyone a littled stressed. I'm not defending what he did. That was-"

"He _killed_ Matthew and Pete!" Lee interrupted, glaring at her now.

"Only to defend his people!" Bonnie cried defensively. "Kenny could've killed us all."

"But he didn't."

"Bill overreacted; he stepped out of line, and he overreacted." Bonnie paused, and grabbed another magazine. "Luke and Lilly had ideas about how things should go, but they didn't line up with what Bill wanted. They butted heads, then Rebecca started showin', and that only made things worse...I just hope Luke is safe."

_Typical Lilly, always wanting to be the leader,_ Lee thought. Out loud, he said, "I'm sure he's still alive out there, somewhere."

There was a pause, and Bonnie stood up and walked away for a moment. She returned with a blue ski jacket with a rainbow on it. "Give this to Clementine, okay? I found it back at the lodge, and it looked to be about her size."

Lee was a bit astonished for a moment, but then he looked back at Bonnie. "Thanks. I will."

Meanwhile, Sarah and Clementine were in the greenhouse, waiting for Tavia to bring Reggie in. Sarah was still shaken up about being slapped.

"You okay, Sarah?" Clementine asked, trying to make conversation with her friend, but received no answer from the teen.

Finally, after a moment of silence, she finally spoke. "My dad's never hit me before...even when I was really bad."

"He didn't want to do it," Clem replied, "Carver made him. In a weird way, it's like Carver hit you, not your dad."

"Yeah, I guess..." Sarah trailed off. "Well, then Carver hit me super hard, because it still hurts really bad."

"Yeah, it looked like it," Clem said.

"I don't know why people have to be so mean; even when I'm really mad, I still don't want to hurt anybody," Sarah continued to talk.

Clementine shrugged. "Because we're the good guys," she answered. "That's what Lee told me."

Sarah smiled, if only slightly. "Well, he's probably right."

Reggie then came in, interrupting their conversation. "Okay, we gotta do a good job, guys, the camp is counting on us. Come on, I'll show you what to do, it's super easy," he said, walking over to one of the many tables in the greenhouse. Clem and Sarah followed him, Sarah still looking glum. "Pick up a pair of those shears," Reggie ordered.

Clementine acquiesced, picking up her shears, and after a moment, Sarah did, too, and simply stared at it.

"Okay, so we're picking these berries, right?" Reggie instructed. "Just pick them, put them in the basket. Simple."

Clementine glanced over at Sarah, who just solemnly stared at the shears in her hands.

"While you're at it, take those dead branches, cut them, and stack them neatly for composting," Reggie continued. "Got it?"

With a nod, Clementine walked over to her station, ready to work. Reggie came over to her and asked, "Hey, so is she gonna be okay? 'Cause what happened down there, that was straight fucked up. I don't want her freaking out."

"I'll take care of her, don't worry," Clementine assured. To this day, she continued to look out for Sarah.

"Okay, good," Reggie nodded. "Because I'm awful at that stuff. I'm gonna go work now," he said, before leaving Clem and Sarah alone and walking away. Clementine then began her work, clipping at various branches on the plant, but her eyes seemed to drift to Sarah, and she felt bad for the teen. She didn't want Sarah to get in trouble, so she decided to help the girl.

"Here," she said, walking over to her. "Watch me." She then clipped some branches, hoping Sarah would take note. The two girls continued to clip their branches and pick the berries while Reggie worked, and soon, Sarah seemed to be getting the hang of things. Clementine was thankful for that.

After some time passed, though, Carver decided to come checking up on them.

"Oh, shit," Reggie swore.

"Oh, no," Sarah whispered.

Reggie then looked over at Clementine's work station, only to see that it was untouched. "You didn't do any of your work, Clem!"

Carver opened the door, and Sarah gasped. "Just checking in, seein' how the new girls are working out," he announced. He looked over at the table as well, and a look of anger flashed in his eyes. "Reggie..."

"Yeah, Bill. Hey."

"What the fuck happened in here?"

"Look, Bill, they're new, and me with my arm, it's just...it's not the easiest...I have one arm, so-"

"Shut up, shut up, shut the fuck up. You better have an explanation," Carver ordered. "And I mean now."

"Bill, please, I...just-"

"Sounds like you're about to give me an excuse, and that's not what I asked for."

"It's my fault," Clementine interrupted. "Sarah needed help, so I was helping her, and I was going to do my work right after," she said, looking up at the intimidating man.

"It's true," Sarah spoke softly.

"Hmph." Bill looked over at the two girls, then back to Reggie. "You're lucky I'm in a good mood today, Reggie," he said, before turning over to Sarah and Clem. "Keep up with the good work, I'll be back to check on you all again," he told them, before exiting the greenhouse.

Once Carver had disappeared back into the store, Reggie breathed a sigh of relief and turned to the girls, smiling at them. "Thank you, girls. Really. I'm not sure what Bill would have done if you two hadn't backed me up just now."

"You're welcome," Clementine answered, and Sarah gave a small, apologetic smile in return.

"We should probably get back to work now, or we'll really be in trouble," Reggie told them.

The girls nodded in agreement, and Clementine continued to help Sarah until she got the hang of it completely. She soon went over to her own station and worked on her own assignment, and finished up just as Carver entered the greenhouse once more.

He surveyed the place once more. "Excellent," he praised. "Reggie, you've done a fine job with keeping these girls in check. You're nearly back in."

"Really? That's great news, Bill!" Reggie answered, smiling, not at all feeling nervous now.

Carver turned to the girls. "Clementine, Bonnie's got some stuff for you to do. Get downstairs." His voice was still cold and manipulative, but didn't sound vicious at the moment. "As for you, Sarah, Lilly and Mike are waiting for you in the storage room."

"Thanks for the help, girls," Reggie said as the two of them left to do their next jobs.

* * *

After helping Kenny and Nick with the wall outside, Lee was assigned to sort out weapons in one of the outlet stores. What he didn't expect to find when he entered, however, was Walter, staring blankly at a gun in his hand.

"Walter?" Lee asked slowly, knowing that the other man was still upset about Matthew. "Everything okay?"

He saw Walter grip the gun tightly in his hand, and then bring it up a little. He turned around in Lee's direction, his face ashen and his soul crushed.

"Walt..." Lee said again. "What are you doing? Take it easy, man..."

Walter shook his head. "I can't do this anymore."

"So you're gonna give up?" Lee inquired. "Come on, man, everybody's lost somebody."

A tear slid down his cheek. "But Matthew...he was all I had left, and now there's nobody, and I'm stuck here."

"We're gonna find a way out," Lee tried to persuade, but Walter wasn't having it.

"Nothing you say will change my mind, Lee, I've given this thought," he continued to talk as he rose the gun up to his temple. "Tell Kenny and Sarita that I'm sorry," he barely managed to get out, before pulling the trigger, killing himself with Lee as a witness. As soon as the gunshot could be heard, Troy ran into the room.

"What the fuck?!" he nearly yelled once he saw Walter's now headless body.

"He...he shot himself," Lee answered numbly.

Troy glared down at the body, and shook his head. "Weak son of a bitch. Fuckin' coward."

Lee glared at him. Surely he would have had some empathy for what had just happened, but apparently not.

The other man glared back for a moment, then got out a walkie-talkie, speaking into it. "Bill?"

"_What, Troy?_" Carver's voice came out in static a few moments later.

"We got an incident over here in one of the stores." Troy used to radio to speak.

"_An incident? What kind of a fucking incident?_" Carver barked, questioning.

"That Walter guy shot himself," Troy revealed, and it was silent on the other end of the radio for a few moments.

Finally, Carver spoke. "_Get the body cleaned up, and don't let anybody find out about it. This won't be good for morale..._" he trailed off. "_Is that all?_" he then asked.

"Uh, yeah," Troy answered, clicking the radio off. He then turned around to Lee. "You, you're done for the day, go ahead and get back to the pen," he said, and Lee nodded, still trying to register the fact that Walter had just blown his brains out right in front of him. He left the outlet store numbly, unsure of how he was going to tell everyone in the group what he had just seen.

The group, minus Carlos, were seated around one of the fires. Clementine was now wearing the blue jacket that had been given to her a little earlier. Lee approached, crestfallen, and everyone looked up.

"Hey, pal, somethin' wrong?" Kenny inquired. "Well, besides all of the other shit that's going on."

Lee sighed, and wasn't sure how else to address the serious matter. "It's Walter. He...he killed himself while I was about to work with him. He's dead."

Sarita gasped. "Oh, my..."

"What the fuck?!" Lilly exclaimed, her eyes widening.

"He told me before he died that he couldn't take it anymore, with Matthew gone," Lee explained sadly. "He shot himself, and Kenny, he said to tell you and Sarita that he was sorry."

Sarita shook her head. "I didn't think it was that bad..."

Lee nodded. "Yeah, he's gone."

Kenny sighed angrily. "We gotta get the fuck outta here," he said. "For Walt."

"Anybody seen Alvin?" Rebecca asked, changing the subject. But they all knew he was still missing from where Tavia had told him to go to Carver's office the previous day. A sigh escaped her lips, and she turned to Sarah. "How's your cheek, honey?" she inquired, remembering the slap from earlier. She got to witness it first hand.

"It still stings a little, but I'm okay," Sarah answered.

"That's good," Bec said, a small smile gracing her.

"Did something happen?" Lilly asked.

Sarah shifted around slightly and hung her head, not wanting to remember it, so Clementine spoke up for her. "This morning, Carver came into the pen to talk to us. And-"

"I didn't mean to speak so loudly, I should have just stayed quiet," Sarah spoke up shamefully.

There was a pause, then Clementine spoke again. "Carlos...he was forced to slap her."

Needless to say, Lilly wasn't at all pleased to hear that. She knew for a fact that Carlos would never lay a hand on his daughter. She shook her head and closed her eyes for a moment, then turned to Sarah. "I'm sorry, Sarah. Are you okay now?"

Sarah nodded. "Mhm."

"Good."

Meanwhile, Carlos was just finishing up his work shift in one of the many outlet stores that was set up as a makeshift hospital. There were many medical supplies in there, and he just couldn't believe how Carver had gotten his hands on all of them. But when he was finally dismissed from working to go back to the pen, he did just that. Walking through the many outlet stores, until suddenly, something grabbed him, pulling him aside.

"Carlos!" It was a voice he recognized, but he wasn't sure who it was yet.

"What the...?" he trailed off, turning around to see who or what grabbed him. "Luke?!"

Luke looked around to make sure they were alone at the moment. "Hey, is everything okay?"

"What are you doing here?" Carlos questioned in a whisper, shocked.

Luke shook his head. "We ain't got much time...but I followed y'all here when you got nabbed, and haven't had a night's sleep since. This is the first chance I've had to talk to somebody. The guards are everywhere, Carlos."

"I know that," Carlos replied.

"There's a herd of lurkers just south of us...bigger than anything I've ever seen..." he trailed off.

"Carver mentioned something like that."

Luke quickly looked around to make sure that the coast was still clear. "Yeah, folks were talkin' about that, but it ain't so, okay? Now I don't know when, but it's coming, and it's coming soon. And it ain't somethin' Carver's ever dealt with before."

Luke paced around sleepily, before shaking his head frantically. Carlos made a mental note to examine him when he could.

"We...we need a plan, to get you and everyone else out of here," Luke continued. "Listen, man, I need one of those radios, one of those walkie-talkies. I just need to be able to tell you what goin' on with them guards. I mean, they're all over the place. So, I need you or someone to meet me here tomorrow, with a radio."

"You must be crazy," Carlos said, shaking his head. "Like you said, guards are everywhere."

"It's the only way, Carlos," Luke said. "If there was another way, I'd go with it, but there's not. Just, please, get a radio."

Carlos was hesitant, but agreed. "Okay, I'll try." He nodded.

"Good, now you go back and tell the others. I'll be here tomorrow around the same time, alright?" Luke replied.

"Okay," Carlos said. "You be careful, Luke."

"You too," he said, before sending Carlos on his way.


	20. Carver's Intentions

A bit later, back in the pen, Tavia had come to get Lee. "Bill wants a word with you up in his office," she spoke strictly, Lee becoming confused immediately. What would that man want with him? He looked at Clementine, who was sleeping soundly in the uncomfortable bunk beds, and then back to Tavia.

"Come on," she insisted. "It won't take long."

Lee obliged, and stood up to follow the woman, leaving the rest of his group, minus Alvin and Carlos, sitting by the fire. They walked and walked, and when they finally reached the set of stairs that led to the office, Tavia left Lee by himself. The man began walking up the stairs, and that's when he passed Rebecca, who seemed to be crying.

"Rebecca?" he inquired, but she wouldn't answer him.

"She's a strong woman, surrounded by weak men. I ain't letting my kid get raised around that," Carver said harshly, as he waited for Lee at the top of the steps. "Get in here," he ordered.

Lee had no choice but to oblige, and the first thing he saw when he entered was Alvin, bloody, beaten, and unconscious. His eyes widened, and he tried to approach him.

"Alvin...Alvin!" he called out. Then, he turned and glared at Carver. "You son of a bitch! What did you do?"

"He passed out hours ago, he can't hear nothin'," Carver replied.

"Why are you doing this? What the hell would he have done to deserve that?"

"Let's just say that me and him, we got history. Understand?" Carver crossed his arms. "We had to...work out some things. And I wouldn't be so concerned for his well-being if I were you. Not with that girl of yours being so close to the fire herself."

This caused Lee to give him an even harsher glare, but Carver only led him to a seat by the desk.

"Now, you make sure to tell me the truth while you're in here, unless you want to end up in that chair," Carver ordered, gesturing over to the chair in which Alvin was unconscious.

"Now...I understand your friend, Walter, is gone now. But we can't just be losing people like that, not with the horde approaching, we need as much man power as we can get. So I need you to make sure incidents like that don't happen anymore," Carver continued as he sat on his desk. "Got that?"

"I tried to stop him, but-"

"I said, do you got that?" Carver repeated, bitterly.

"Yeah," Lee added, frowning.

"Good, good." Carver nodded. "I always believed suicide was the coward's way out, and selfishness like that puts this whole group at risk. And we don't want that."

"You killed the only person he had left!" Lee argued, defending Walter. "That doesn't make him selfish or weak!"

"Oh, but it does," Carver told him, wearing his snake-like smirk. "Now, see, that Walter fellow wasn't the least bit concerned about the safety of others with his decision. His cowardly act is a danger to this community's safety, and that's what makes him weak. It falls to strong people like us who need to lead the weak to safety. It's our responsibility to shepherd the flock, to keep them safe. It's their nature to follow, not to lead."

"I'm not like you." Lee was very blunt with his reply. He had killed someone before the apocalypse, but it didn't make him a crazed psychopath; nothing like Carver.

Carver's smirk grew. "Oh, we're more alike than you think. You see, Lee, killing one to save many is part of survival. It's one of the tougher decisions that the weak can't make."

Lee shook his head. "No."

Carver nodded. "I think you realize it, but you're not comfortable with it yet," he spoke. "There's no way you and that little girl could have lasted this long otherwise. And that little girl, she's gonna be just like you and me."

"You leave Clem out of this," Lee warned. "She's just a little girl, she doesn't know any better."

Carver shook his head, smirking. "Kids like her, strong kids, that's the way my kid will be raised."

"What if it's not yours?" Lee retorted.

"It's mine now," he answered without missing a beat, causing Lee's eyes to widen. "And right now-" He was about to continue speaking, but his walkie talkie buzzed, interrupting him.

"Bill, you there?" It was Tavia. Meanwhile, while Carver was talking on the radio, Lee got a good look around the man's office, hoping for something that would help them get the hell out of this place. There wasn't much, except for the intercom system, and that could come in handy later if they needed it for something.

When he was finished talking to Tavia about the broken door, he turned to Lee. "Go on and get back to the yard, it's almost time to go to bed," he ordered, and Lee didn't say anything, only stood up, and exited the office, heading back into the pen with the rest of the group.

When he got there, he could hear Kenny yelling. "Because we all know what the fuck happened this morning! We don't know what that sonovabitch is gonna do next!"

"Your friend here wants to get us all killed before Bill can do it," Rebecca explained.

"What is it with you?" Kenny retorted.

"That's what it sounds like to me."

"Luke can help us," Carlos spoke up, before anyone could argue any further. "He's outside. He wants a radio to help keep an eye on the guards."

"Yes, thank you!" Rebecca agreed. "That's the plan I vote for. If Luke can tell us what's goin' on with the guards, then we can use that to pick a good time to escape."

"That seems reasonable," Sarita spoke up.

"Who knows when that'll be?" Kenny argued. "There was a girl back at Crawford that used church bells to get all over the city, remember, Lee? We just-"

"Yes, that _bitch_ who got my father killed by doing just that," Lilly announced bitterly, looking down at her lap. They were referring to Molly, a woman whom they had met in Savannah. She had been indirectly responsible for Larry's death. That was something Lilly had never gotten over.

"Lilly," Carlos nearly scolded her.

"We just need something really loud!" Kenny finished, ignoring the exchange.

"The PA system Carver is always using is quite loud," Reggie told them. "But guys, this is extremely risky. It won't just be me who gets in trouble if we're caught."

"Which is why no one will find out about this."

"There are some speakers, I saw them while walking out to the work," Mike said. "Troy's always standing by them."

"And I saw some controls in Carver's office," Lee added.

"He's right," Rebecca nodded. "All the controls are in Bill's office. There's a switch in there that will turn them on."

"How do you know that?" Mike asked.

Rebecca frowned. "I used to make a lot of the announcements back in the day. I had it flipped on once, luckily, there wasn't much around to hear it though. It was plenty loud."

"That's perfect!" Kenny exclaimed. "We just gotta get into the office. Why didn't you say something sooner?"

"'Cause it doesn't change anything," Rebecca answered. "This isn't a discussion about how to do it, it's a discussion about whether it's stupid. And it's still stupid; the sensible thing is to get Luke a radio and wait for an opening," she continued to talk.

"I think so, too," Nick added. "Luke is smart, he'll find a way for us to get out."

"We could do both," Lee suggested. "Even if we do get the horde, it'll still be helpful for Luke to tell us where they're coming from."

"Yes," Lilly agreed. "That's smart."

"Fine," Kenny agreed. "I can get behind that. Okay, so we get the turd a radio, he keeps us posted on the horde's movement, we fire up the PA thing and get walkers to roll over this place."

"And then what?" Carlos asked, not liking the idea of being stuck in a horde.

"We get some guns and shoot our way out," Kenny answered. "I don't know! Whatever we can, we improvise."

"Then that's not a plan, you don't _plan_ to improvise," Mike retorted.

"You just don't think this stuff through," Rebecca added. "If the end of the plan is to just stroll through a herd of walkers, then there's no way it's aver going to work."

"Actually..." someone else spoke up. "I do it all the time." The group turned to face Jane, who jumped into the conversation.

"What do you mean exactly?" Sarita inquired.

"When you cover yourself in their smell, rub the walker guts all over you...they can't tell you from one of them," Jane explained.

"Now I don't know who's crazier," Rebecca said.

"Trust me, I've walked through herds before. It works. You just have to keep calm, and you're all good and covered."

"She's right," Lee agreed with Jane. "When Omid, Christa, Clementine and I got out of the Marsh House back in Savannah, we covered ourselves and walked right through the herd. We were all able to get out unharmed."

"Really?" Lilly asked.

"Holy shit," Kenny added with a smile. "Good one, Lee."

"Thanks, Ken," Lee replied.

"Well, what are we waitin' for?" Kenny stood up. "Let's get that stupid radio!"

"We still have to find a way into the stock room," Rebecca added.

"I got a plan for that too," Jane spoke up. "We can use the winch, somebody can climb from up there, and then drop down and get it. There's shelves and stuff to climb on, too."

"That thing breaks all the time," Rebecca pointed out. "Unless something's changed, it won't support much weight."

Lee shook his head. "I'm not making Clem do it," he said, because he knew they were all thinking it. The little girl was asleep right now, along with Sarah, and he wasn't going to wake her up anytime soon. She needed her rest.

"Then who?" Kenny asked.

"I'll do it if I have to," Lee replied.

"Think that'll work?" Lilly questioned.

"It has to, what other choice do we have?"

"Hold on," Mike said. "If the winch won't support much weight, is there any other possible way for him to get up there?"

Lee looked up, and thought about it. "Maybe I can climb the rope. If I'm lucky, that hook on the roof will hold on long enough for me to be able to get up there."

"I'm not sure if I like this..." Reggie trailed off.

"You got anything better?" Kenny asked, but he was ignored.


	21. Busted Plans

"Try to hurry, alright?" Mike advised quietly as Lee began to climb the rope. "They see you're not in your bunk, we're all done. Those guards are no idiots."

"Got it," Lee answered with a nod. He was pretty physically strong; his rope-climbing days in gym class had paid off well.

There was a noise from outside of the pen. "Shit, Troy's coming back!" Mike exclaimed. "Hurry, grab onto something!"

Lee obliged, grabbing hold of the ladder cage. It seemed sturdy enough, even for someone his size. He looked over to the small horde of walkers just outside in the parking lot, and he shook his head. "Shit."

When he got to the roof, Lee noticed a guard patrolling the roof, meaning that he had to remain stealthy. It wasn't the easiest task in the world, as he was tall, but he managed to do it without being seen.

There were many windows, as he tried to look around and find out which one led to the stockroom. When he finally found it, he lowered himself in slowly, and carefully, trying not to fall. There were many boxes, and it was dark as hell in there, so hard to see. He could make out Tavia's voice, speaking on to someone on one of the walkie-talkies as he tried to climb down on the boxes.

Lee knew he was going to have to figure out a way to sneak and get one without her noticing. It deemed a challenging task, but he knew he could do it.

He climbed down the stock shelves as quietly as possible, managing to do so without Tavia noticing him. The oncoming horde was the only part of the conversation he really cared to make out as he began to sneak his way over to where the walkie-talkies were.

Tavia turned her head in Lee's direction, but he hid just in time. When her back was turned again, he tip-toed and grabbed two radios, placing them in his coat pockets (luckily, they fit). He had to leave quickly, as another man by the name of Vince entered the room and began talking with Tavia.

The same guard was still on the roof when Lee sneaked back across, and once again, he made it by without being seen. He climbed down the ladder and back into the pen. Mike was the only one standing there now, waiting on him.

"Mike!" Lee whispered.

"You got 'em?" the other man asked. Lee nodded. "Good job."

Lee jumped down, landing on his feet, and made his way over to the bunk. Clementine and Sarah had remained asleep, but the rest of the adults were eagerly waiting to see what had happened. With a smile, Lee pulled the two walkie-talkies out of his pockets.

"Way to go, pal," Kenny praised quietly. "Now, everybody stay where you are. No need drawin' suspicion."

"Thank you, Lee," Lilly spoke.

"It's no problem." He waived it off. "We should probably get some sleep," he added.

Everyone agreed, and headed to bed. Lee laid there, and closed his eyes, hoping sleep would come soon. Kenny, however, interrupted the silence. "I thought about Duck today...about his dumb little face," he trailed off, the pain clear as day in his voice. "The first things that come to mind are always the dumb things that he was doin'. Kid was always running in circles, every place we went. Kid would just run, and I couldn't stop him."

"I'm sorry, Ken," Lee empathized.

Kenny shook his head. "Makes it harder to remember he was a good kid."

"He was a good kid," Lee replied. "A lot of help at the motor inn."

"Anyway..." Kenny trailed off. "Long day tomorrow. One long day..."

In the morning, Kenny called everyone still in the pen over to the center for a meeting before Carver or any other guard showed up. Carlos was called into work early this morning, so he wasn't present. Lilly didn't seem too happy about attending this, but she looked to be in no mood to argue.

"Alright, we're all here," Kenny announced.

"Someone needs to get the radio out to Luke," Rebecca pointed out. "What's the problem?"

"We should probably think about who's doing what before we-" Lee began, but the opening of the pen door cut him off.

In walked Tavia, and Kenny and Lee each put a walkie-talkie into their pockets. "Time to get up," the woman announced. "Daylight's burnin'. They let you sleep in, all things considered."

"Where's my dad?" Sarah asked slowly.

"He's where the rest of you are going. To work," Tavia answered quite unkindly. "Rebecca, Nick, Sarah, Jane, if you need to take a piss, do it now. The next break won't be for a while."

"Troy's gonna be coming for the rest of you."

"Why just them?" Kenny asked.

Tavia rolled her eyes. "Like I said, Troy will be coming." She turned and left the pen with the other guards, leaving Lee, Kenny, Clementine, Mike, Lilly, Sarita, and Mike in the pen still.

Kenny turned around. "Alright, if we're going to do something, we need to do it NOW."

"I agree," Lee nodded.

"If Luke's all we got then we pair up with him."

"I can do it," Mike insisted. "Where's the meeting?"

"Mike," Kenny deadpanned. "Lee should do it."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Mike inquired. "He already got the damn radio."

"I'm sorry, Mike, but I don't know you from fuckin' Adam, all right? And if I'm trustin' someone to do somethin' this important, it's him," Kenny finished.

"If Lee can do it once, he can do it again," said Lilly.

"Kenny's right, Mike, I can do it," Lee said.

"Give me the radio," Mike argued, but before anyone could reply, the pen door opened up again. This time, Troy entered.

"Alright, little chickens, let's get to peckin'," he announced. "And today's not gonna be like yesterday, got it? No way, no shenanigans. This rooster's gonna be surveilling your every second, you hear?"

Clementine tried to sneak a glance at the radio in Kenny's hand, but nearly jumped when Troy said, "Got that?"

"Yes, sir," Clementine replied bitterly.

"Come on," he said, before leading them away.

Lee and Kenny walked carefully, considering the radios were in their pockets.

"Hey," Bonnie approached the group. "Lee and Clem are with me today."

"Shit, I almost forgot," Troy replied. "Take 'em, I don't care," he said, shoving Lee forward just a bit, causing the man to glare back at him.

"What's going on?" Lilly questioned bitterly, knowing they were all supposed to be together today.

"Just chores of a different sort," Bonnie answered. Lee and Clem then followed Bonnie while Troy led everyone else outside by the wall. "I just wanted to make sure you guys were alright," Bonnie spoke, pulling Lee out of his many thoughts. How would he get the radio to Luke now?

"We're fine," Lee answered.

"Clem looks a little anxious," Bonnie noticed. "She okay? What's the matter?"

A few moments went by, and there was no answer. Bonnie beckoned Clementine and Lee into the armory and shut the door. "Y'all know you can talk to me, right?" she questioned. "I was dishonest when we first met, but I swear on everything holy that it'll never happen again."

"I...we need to talk to Kenny," Clementine answered.

"It's important," Lee added.

After an awkward silence, Bonnie sighed. "I know this is uncomfortable, but I won't force either one of you to be around me if you don't want to. Go on and be with Kenny."

Lee nodded. "Come on, Clem," he said, guiding her away.

He had the feeling that Luke was probably waiting somewhere; Carlos had mentioned that Luke would be in the comic store, right next to the place where Walter had committed suicide the previous day. He placed a hand on Clementine's shoulder.

"Let me go talk to Luke, okay, sweet pea?" he suggested. "You go on and find Kenny and Lilly."

"Are you sure, Lee?" Clementine asked uncertainly.

"Yeah. Don't worry, I'll be fine. Go on."

Clementine nodded and ran to her next task, nearly bumping into a young man by the name of Russell, who only told her to keep moving. Lee made his way outside and into the comic book store.

"Luke?" he called quietly.

But the comic store was empty by the looks of it. "Luke?" he tried again, but received no answer. He looked all around, practically tore that comic store apart looking for the man, but he was nowhere. And Lee had this bad feeling deep in his gut that something awful had happened. "Luke, are you alright?" he asked again.

That's when Troy burst through the door. "I swear to Christ you're gonna regret this!" He grabbed Lee by his shirt and slung the man around. "You ain't supposed to be out here!" He led Lee outside, forcefully, making the other man wince. "You people been here one fuckin' day! And you're already fucking up! You just wait an' see what happens! MOVE!" He shoved Lee forward, making the man stumble.

"Lee!" Clem called out fearfully where she was standing with Mike, Kenny, and Lilly.

"Hey!" Kenny barked at Troy.

But Troy only glared at him, and led the five of them back to the pen, where everyone else was standing around. Lee's eyes widened when he noticed Luke on the ground in pain, and Carlos was tending to him. Carver was pacing around, making another speech.

"-and how is it that we're repaid for our trust? With treachery? With deceit?" he was saying.

"What's going on?" Clementine inquired.

"I don't know," Lee answered.

Much to his surprise, Carver held up one of the walkie-talkies. But where had he gotten it? And more importantly, when and where was Luke caught?

"Whatever you were planning is over, it's done," he continued. "You can't just up and leave when it gets tough, 'cause there's nowhere else to go where it ain't. Tough is all we got now, get that through your fuckin' skulls."

"Luke here, he can't help you now. You gotta help yourselves, you gotta help me find the strength to forgive you," Carver continued to ramble, pacing around. "And you can start, by telling me where the other radio is." And at that, Clementine's heart leaped in her chest because she knew that Lee had the radio.

"I'm gonna count to three, and if that radio ain't in my hand by then, we'll have to make things more difficult," he continued.

"...One."

"...Two..."

Before things could get any uglier than they already were, Lee knew that he had to speak up.

"Stop," he said stepping forward a bit. Almost hesitantly, he removed the walkie-talkie from his pocket, much to the shock of the rest of the group. He sighed. "I've got it, right here."

"Lee-" Clementine cried out fearfully.

"It's okay, Clementine," Lee whispered, glancing behind him. He walked over to Carver. "Sorry, you know? Not sure what I was thinking."

"Three," Carver finished once the radio was in his hand.

There was a pause, and Lee shook his head, glaring angrily. "Motherfucker," he muttered under his breath.

Almost without warning, Carver hit Lee over the eye with the walkie-talkie, sending him down.

"LEE!" Clementine yelled.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Lilly shouted at Carver, giving the man an intense glare.

He only continued to bash Lee in the skull with the walkie, sending blood spewing everywhere. Clementine had to look away, she couldn't bear to see her guardian get beat like that.

"Jesus Christ, stop!" Nick yelled out.

"Somebody stop him!" Kenny screamed next, attempting to run forward, when Reggie grabbed him, restraining him from going any farther forward. "Goddamn it, Reggie! Let me go!" he growled through gritted teeth.

"Clementine, help me!" Reggie begged, but Clem ran forward, towards Lee, hoping she could do something to save him, but that only earned her a smack across the face, causing her to black out instantly.

"Bill!" It was Bonnie's voice who rang throughout the pen. "That's enough Bill! Please!" she begged as she approached the angry man. "There's a breach..."

"Alright, everyone come with me," Carver ordered, finally throwing the radio aside. His hands were caked in Lee's blood. "Bonnie, you stick around. Make sure these folks don't get into any more trouble."

"Yeah, okay," Bonnie responded.

"No supper for y'all tonight. An empty stomach will give you some perspective, and we'll do this again tomorrow."

Once they were gone, Bonnie knelt down, rubbing Clementine's shoulder to try and comfort her. "Do your best with him, Carlos," she said. "We need to get him up and movin', because we're leavin' tonight."

The others looked at Bonnie in shock. "What?" Kenny asked.

"We're leavin' tonight."


	22. Eye Of The Storm

Nightfall came quickly, and when Clementine woke from being hit earlier, her head hurt like crazy. But the first thing that came to her mind was Lee. Was he okay? After that beating from Carver, there was no telling if he had survived. She opened her eyes, slowly, not wanting to make her headache even worse. She sat up, and noticed that the rest of the group were sitting around the fire.

"Where's Lee?" she questioned loudly.

"It's alright, Clem, we got Doc workin' on him now," Kenny tried to assure her, but he was looking rather worried as well. He was right, because Lee was laying on the bed across the way, and Carlos was trying to fix him up.

Reggie, Luke, and Mike returned from the front of the pen, where all of them had been speaking with Bonnie. It seemed that Reggie had changed his mind, and would be leaving with the group as well.

"What'd she say?" Rebecca inquired.

"She can get us out of the pen if we can get the PA system going," Mike explained. "Second she hears it, she'll run over and spring us."

"That's great!"

"It's not great," Luke spoke up.

"What are you talking about?" Rebecca asked.

Luke shook his head. "Look, I know part of this is my fault. I was hungry and got caught stealing some food..." he trailed off.

"We can't stay here!" Clementine interrupted.

"She's right," Lilly backed her up. "I'm not staying in this place longer than I have to."

"Exactly," Rebecca jumped in. "We don't know how long Alvin's got before Bill kills him. We have to leave now."

"I hear what you're saying, but it's risky," Luke replied.

"It is pretty damn risky, guys," Nick commented.

"Risky?" Mike retorted. "Did you see what that sonovabitch just did? Look, the plan works. Nothing needs to be changed. The hard part is done. This guy's fucking crazy. Who knows what he'll do next?"

"Yeah, but we're dealing with a guy beat to shit, and I'm a goddamn mess!" Luke continued. "Look, we should rest up, okay? We should bide our time, and we should wait for an opening."

"That's not fucking happening," Lilly sneered.

"Bonnie's agreeing to help us tonight," Mike chimed in.

"And why can't she do it some other night?" Luke argued.

"I don't know, guys...Luke's makin' sense," Nick agreed. "Maybe we should wait."

"We're not waiting!" Rebecca shot back.

"There's nothin' out there, guys! No food, no supplies...trust me, everything is picked clean."

That was when Carlos came over, and everyone looked in his direction. "You better fix him, you better!" Clementine cried, especially worried for her guardian.

"I'm trying the best that I can," Carlos replied. "His orbital is crushed. There's not much hope for the eye. I got him as stable as I could, cleaned it, got some of the swelling down. But until he wakes up, we won't know if there's any damage to the brain."

"Goddamn," Kenny muttered.

"Okay, look," Luke said once more. "Maybe I'm playing devil's advocate here, but damn it, if y'all are serious about this...about going tonight, we might have to talk about leaving some people behind..." he trailed off.

"Are you fucking serious?" Lilly scoffed.

"Luke!" Clementine replied, angrily.

"There is no other way," he defended.

"The hell there ain't!" Kenny shouted. "We ain't leavin' Lee!"

"This is bullshit," Rebecca said.

"Well I don't like it, either, but guess what, it's where we're at," Luke retorted, angrily.

"We're not leaving Lee!" Clementine argued.

"Good...no one ain't leaving me." Now, it was Lee who had spoken up. The group looked over at him in a bit of surprise. Lee was smiling a bit, but he still looked like  
he was in pain. His left eye was covered by a bandage, and there were bruises all over his face.

"Well, I'll be damned," Kenny spoke up, smiling with relief. "Glad to see you're up and movin, pal."

"Thanks, Ken," Lee answered.

Clementine didn't hesitate to hug him, also relieved that he was still alive.

"It's alright, sweet pea, I'm okay," Lee assured her.

"So, what now?" Luke spoke up.

"We get the hell outta here, plan don't change," Kenny answered.

"Like, _now_ now?"

"_Yes,_" Lilly responded immediately.

"Where are we going?" Lee asked. "In case things get messy and we get separated?"

"We could meet at Parker's Run," Mike suggested.

"The hell is that?" Kenny asked.

"A civil war sight a few miles up. There's signs all over, just follow the road."

"We stopped there the first time we escaped," Rebecca said. "It's not hard to find."

"Okay," Luke nodded. "Now we just need someone to set off that PA, right? I mean, you never bothered to explain who's going to do that." He shrugged.

"Well, you could do it," Lilly smirked.

"I'll do it," Clementine offered.

"Clem? No," Lee shook his head. "It's too dangerous."

"She's just a little girl," Reggie added.

"So what?" Kenny argued. "She knows her way around this place, she's quick, and Lee, you ain't in shape to do anything after that beatin'."

Lee seemed reluctant about this. "You sure you can handle it, Clem?"

Clementine nodded confidently. "I can do it, Lee." She looked around. "I'm gonna need a boost."

Next thing they all knew, Mike had boosted up Clementine, who was pulling the rope down. Rebecca gave her specific instructions on what she needed to do once she reached Carver's office.

"Down into the office, outdoor speaker switch, turn on PA, up to the roof, down into the stockroom to meet you guys," Clementine repeated her words. "That right?"

"Perfect," Rebecca praised. As Mike began pulling the rope, she added. "Clem, make sure you bring Alvin."

"Be careful," Lee spoke up.

Clementine nodded, and once she was on the roof, she ran to the office ceiling door, and entered through there. She was shocked to see Alvin in the chair, still unconscious and looking worse than when Lee had seen him. There was no response after shaking him.

"Alvin, are you okay?" she tried asking him, hoping to get a response. When she got no reply, she went back to the task at hand, and walked over to the desk, hoping to get the PA on. She turned the speakers on, and the volume all the way up. But still, no sound would come. She searched the desk, frantically, and that's when she found a CD, and stuck it into the system quickly. "Please work..." she mumbled to herself, before turning the volume up once more.

Finally, the PA began playing, and that's when Clem saw Bonnie through the window, running to the pen to get the others out. When Clementine turned around to leave, she saw Alvin digging around in one of the desk drawers. "Alvin, are you okay?" she inquired.

The man pulled a gun out of the drawer, and chuckled. "Carver talks all that shit, then keeps the tiniest gun in the world. Something funny about that," he muttered.

Clementine looked out the window and noticed Carver, Tavia, and two other guards speaking below them, before they all ran off in separate directions.

"Come on, we have to go!" she urged Alvin.

"I ain't goin' anywhere, but you are," Alvin answered, knowing that his time was done. "Go on. I mean to get some payback."

"No, no! We're all leaving!" she pleaded.

"I ain't fit to move, kid," Alvin sighed. "I've run outta road."

"_I'll go up there and shut that thing off!"_ someone shouted from outside.

"You've gotta get outta here. They'll be here any second."

"Thank you," Clementine answered sadly, before running to the top.

"Hey," Alvin said weakly, and Clementine turned back to him. "You take care of my girls. I get the feeling...that it's gonna be a girl. Just a hunch. Go on."

She nodded, and hurried to climb back out the window, and get back to where she was supposed to meet the others. Lee was probably worried sick about her. She opened the window to the supply room, and dropped down into it quietly. And she immediately heard Carver's voice.

"You wanna disrespect me? Fine. You wanna throw away the life I'm trying to build for you all? Then fucking fine!" he yelled. He had a gun, and he had it aimed at everyone in the group, including Reggie, Mike, Bonnie, and Jane. "You wanna run off with this dogshit group of crippled fucks, then fine! Be my guest." Meanwhile, Clementine was inching her way along the shelves, getting a good target on Carver.

Finally, she was able to jump on top of him, sending the man stumbling forward, where Kenny, and then Luke proceeded to punch him.

Lilly then picked up the nearest rifle and aimed it at Carver. "Get the fuck back!"

At that, everyone who had been forced to drop their weapons picked them back up. Lee sent Clementine a brief smile, glad that she had made it out okay.

"This ain't nobody's business," Carver said, having no choice but to put his hands up.

"Clem, where...why isn't Alvin with you?" Rebecca questioned, but the saddened look on Clementine's face said it all. "Alvin..."

"Rebecca, I am so-" Luke began.

"Kill him," Rebecca demanded. "I want to see his blood on the floor."

"Rebecca," Carver spoke in a false gentle voice. "Rebecca, sweetie, my God, how did we get here?"

But he couldn't continue, as Kenny immediately shot him in both knees, sending him to the ground, unable to walk. Most of the group looked on in shock as he walked over and picked up a crowbar.

"Go on and wait outside," he practically commanded.

Lee walked forward, crossing his arms. "He's not worth it, Kenny. Leave him for the walkers."

"No," Rebecca snapped.

Lilly stayed firmly in her place, wanting Carver dead herself. "If Kenny won't do it, give me the crowbar."

Kenny shook his head. "I'm not leaving him. He's gonna die, right here."

Most of the group didn't hesitate to head outside, but one thing was for sure, it was that Rebecca and Lilly were going to stay and watch. "Kenny, please," Sarita begged, but he didn't give her an answer.

"I only need a minute," he replied.

"Come on, Clem," Lee gestured to the little girl. "You don't need to see this."

"That girl's already seen more than you can imagine!" Carver yelled from the ground.

"Shut up, Bill!" Luke shouted. "Now, there ain't one part of that son of a bitch that I don't hate, but are we really gonna let him do this?"

"Yes!" Rebecca answered.

"Look at you...fuckin' ingrates, you don't even know how good you got it," Carver spoke up. "That's alright, you'll learn. Lambs to the slaughter, no shepherd to guide you. And Clementine knows exactly what I'm talking about."

Clementine turned and began to walk away, ignoring Carver's calls for her to come back, to "see the show." While she waited outside with the others, Lee, Rebecca, and Lilly remained inside with Kenny and Carver.

"You got a thick fuckin' skull, Kenneth," Carver taunted Kenny. "Where will this get you? You'll only been seen as a monster. _Like me._"

That was all it took for Kenny to begin hitting him repeatedly with the crowbar. The women stood there, watching, without a second thought. For some time, all you could hear, even from outside, was the sound of that crowbar.

When it was all the point where Carver's face was starting to become rearranged, Lee decided that enough was enough.

"Ken," he said firmly, "it's over. He's dead."

"Let's go." Kenny dropped the crowbar to the ground.

Rebecca searched his coat pockets before following everyone else outside. When they finally did get outside, they were overwhelmed by the amount of walkers that happened to be wandering around. "Man, we're never gonna make it through this," Nick mumbled.

"You kidding me?" Luke asked. "If Clem can handle it, you can."

"I thought they were coming from the south?" Lilly asked.

"They did," Rebecca replied. "Looks like we're in the eye of it now."

"Fuck...we are so fucked..." Reggie trailed off, looking around in fear.

"Here, you're gonna need somethin'," Luke said to Lee, handing him a hatchet. At that moment, a walker meandered over to Lee, who chopped it in the head in a second. Then, he began cutting its stomach open, just like he had done in Savannah.

"You guys better hurry up and get to smearing if you wanna live," Jane advised.

"You're gonna put that on yourself?" Sarah asked Lee.

"We have to, Sarah," Lee answered. He then began smearing himself in the walker guts, feeling physically disgusted the entire time. Now he knew how Clementine had felt when he had done this to her. Now, he had to do it again.

"Smells gross," Sarah moaned as Carlos began smearing her.

"Yeah, no shit," Mike replied.

"Shut the fuck up and get covered!" Jane hissed.

"It'll be okay, honey, just stay still," Carlos advised his daughter, still smearing her in guts. "There's nothing to fear if you remain calm. I'll keep you safe."

"We don't have all day!" Lilly whispered loudly.

"What in the actual fuck is going on here?!" Troy demanded. "Somebody say something before I start - hey, hey! Don't even think about it, motherfucker, I will end you!" he yelled as Luke tried to pick up his rifle.

"Troy," Jane began. "Troy, we talked about this."

"What?" he asked. "The fuck are you talking about?"

"I told you I wanted to get out, you said you'd help," she continued to say as she approached him, backing him up against the wall of the store.

"I thought you meant get out of the pen! Not whatever this sick shit is!"

"I did, but now we can leave, Troy," Jane continued. "You can come with us."

"What?" he questioned. "Well, where would we go?" he asked.

"Away from here, together." She smiled as she neared closer to him.

"Man, you smell really bad, you gotta get a bath before we-" A gunshot interrupted him, a gun that Jane had fired, shooting the man right in the groin. "You shot my dick off!" he yelled loudly.

"Come on." She walked back to the group. "Don't make any noise, it'll attract the walkers. And for fuck's sake, act like you belong, walk, and you will belong."

The group spread apart then, with Clementine finding herself by Sarah, who was frightened beyond belief, and Carlos. Lee was nearest to Lilly and Rebecca, while everyone else was more or less alone in the horde of walkers.

As she walked, Clementine slowly turned and noticed Tavia and some of the guards on the roof of Howe's, firing away at all the walkers. They were in extreme danger now, and there was no guarantee of safety in here.

"Is that Tavia?" Luke questioned.

"Shut the fuck up!" Lilly whispered harshly.

"Watch Sarah," Nick whispered.

It was evident that Sarah was beginning to panic while trying - unsuccessfully - to keep calm. Carlos noticed this. "Shhhh, quiet, honey."

"Clementine, come help me!" Carlos whispered, searching for the other little girl. "Calm her down, please? You're her friend, say something," he pleaded as they shuffled along, careful not to bump any other walkers.

"We're gonna be fine, Sarah," Clem said.

The group continued to walk, merging and weaving in and out through the walkers. Sarah stayed very close to Clem, and Clementine stayed very close to Lee, while the others tried to make their way out of the horde. Sarah turned her head for one moment, and then lost track of her father. "Dad!? Dad!" She was beginning to panic because he wasn't in sight.

"Sarah, calm down!" Clem chided.

"Where's my dad? Dad!" Her screams attracted more walkers, and Bonnie had to shoot them so they wouldn't attack.

"DAD! DAAAAD!" Sarah couldn't stay calm now, not when her father wasn't nearby.

"Sarah!" Luke cried out, chopping a walker in the head with his machete. Lee took out another walker that was coming for the girls with his hatchet. Due to Sarah's screams, the walkers began wandering around all over the place, dumbly searching for the source of the noise.

Towards the front of the horde, Carlos turned around in pure horror, his heart pounding in his chest. "Sarah...oh my God...Sarah!"

"We can't go back!" Jane hissed at him.

"I'm not leaving my daughter!" he bit back.

"It's too late!" Jane yelled, "She's gone, we have to keep moving!"

It was hard for everyone to stay together, that was for sure, especially since there were so many walkers everywhere. Lilly grabbed Sarah's hand, and held it tight as she led the teen along. "Sarah, you need to calm down, we need to get out of here."

The girl was in hysterics by now. "I-I can't..." she managed, before running away out of the horde.

Lee took out another walker with his hatchet as they continued through the mess of zombies.

"Clementine, stay close!" he practically ordered as the two of them continued to make their way out of the horde. He looked straight ahead of them, and his eyes widened in shock. A walker was chewing on Sarita's hand, while the woman was trying unsuccessfully to pull herself away.

He didn't want to do this, but he had to, if he wanted to at least try and save Sarita. Wasting no time, he used the hatchet to chop Sarita's arm off, doing so in only two swift motions. Then, he proceeded to kill the walker that had bitten her.

"Lee, y-you..." Then, Sarita let out a shrill scream.

* * *

_**Edit: Thanks to that reviewer who reminded us about the eye. *sweats nervously***_


	23. Amid The Ruins

Sarita began to hyperventilate as her arm fell to the ground, and Lee looked around frantically. He rushed forward, catching Sarita before she could get bitten some more. She held onto what was left of her arm.

"You...you..." she continued to say.

"You need to get out of here, Sarita," Lee practically ordered. "You can't stay here!"

"Sarita!" Kenny called, rushing over immediately. His eyes widened in horror as he noticed her arm, then turned around, glaring at Lee. "What the FUCK did you do, Lee? You had NO fucking right!"

"Kenny, listen to me for _once!_" Lee demanded. "Get her out of here, they're going to smell her blood."

As if on cue, some walkers began advancing towards Sarita, but Kenny quickly pulled her along. No doubt he would have to begin carrying her if she passed out right here.

"I'm goin' after Sarah!" Luke yelled as he and Nick ran by. A bullet zoomed past Nick, just barely missing his shoulder. Lilly had no choice but to cover herself some more, a disgusted look on her features.

Lee looked around, shielding Clem from the walkers, and that's when he noticed that he and the little girl were completely alone. They had lost the other members of their large group, or at least none of them were in sight at the moment. Nonetheless, he and Clementine continued on. The walkers were advancing on them, so they had to get out of there quick. Everything was going well, until Rebecca grabbed Lee from out of nowhere, pulling he and Clementine to the side.

"Thank God," the pregnant woman managed to get out.

"I can't find anybody," Lee admitted.

"I know," Rebecca said, looking down at Clem. "What do we do?"

"We need to keep moving," Lee said with a nod. "The others have to be around here somewhere."

"We can make it if we stick together," Rebecca added. "I'm glad you and Clementine are here."

"We'll stick together," Lee answered. "If we can get a clear path to the trees..." He looked around for an opening until he saw a path leading over to some bushes, which, eventually, would get them out of the horde. "There!"

The three of them began to emerge from their hiding place, but there were too many walkers. "Go back, go back!" Rebecca urged.

As Clementine backed away, she bumped into another figure. "Jane!"

"Jane, thank G-" Rebecca began.

"Slow down. Relax," Jane cut her off. Carlos was no longer near her, he was already out of the horde by himself, not even knowing that Sarah had made it out. "You need to walk, slowly. You'll. Be. Fine."

"She's right, we better go," Lee whispered.

"We have to push through that cluster of walkers."

"There's too many!" Rebecca exclaimed.

"We'll use a cow-catcher," Jane said, looking around until she noticed a thin walker. "She looks light enough to carry. Lee, I'll need you to distract her."

Lee nodded, and walked up behind the small walker, he touched it lightly, and then got ready to attack in case Jane didn't follow through. But she grabbed the walker in time, and cut off it's lower jaw so that it couldn't bite anyone. "Follow me," she whispered, and used the walker as a shield to get through the horde. Lee, Clem, and Rebecca all walked behind her.

"Stay close, Clem," Lee warned as they neared the edge of the parking lot.

When the four of them finally made it out of the horde, Jane turned around to face them, "Let's go," she managed to say. And they walked for quite some time, still not seeing any of the others, which was a shock because their group was so large. Especially with the joining of Reggie, Mike, Bonnie, and Jane, that was four extra people alone. Morning time came quickly, and yet there were still walking.

Rebecca seemed to be in some kind of pain. "You should try to take it easy," Lee said to her as they walked. "Do you need to rest?" he inquired.

"No, no," Rebecca shook her head, "We can stop when we're with the others... I need to make sure they made it. What if they aren't there?" she rambled on, hand resting protectively over her stomach.

"If they aren't, nothing we can do about it," Jane jumped in.

"Don't even say things like that," Rebecca replied harshly.

"I'm sure they're fine," Clem tried to be the voice of reason, but Lee just shook his head, which was a way of telling her to be quiet right now.

"Fine, sorry," Jane shrugged.

"Who knows if we're safe? What if the herd is still following us?" Rebecca inquired.

"We're fine," Jane said, not even looking back.

"We'll watch out for each other, don't worry," Lee spoke up.

There was a pause, and then Rebecca spoke up again. "I can't stop thinking about the others...how could I leave Alvin behind? It was stupid, we should have been more patient."

"Jane's plan worked," Clementine said. "We made it out of there. Most of us."

"Look, I know that some of your people didn't make it, but Carver was crazy," Jane said. "Staying would have only prolonged the inevitable. I'm just saying that if people hadn't panicked, then things might have turned out better."

At those words, Clementine's thoughts turned to Sarah. Was she okay? Was Carlos okay? Nobody knew if either of them were still alive.

Her thoughts were interrupted, however, when Rebecca groaned and placed her hands on her stomach again. "I need to stop."

Lee turned to look at her, surprised.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I don't want to slow us down...can I just have a minute?" she asked, and he nodded. "Thank you," she said, and turned around, fighting back tears. "Alvin was supposed to be here for this," she cried.

"Is Alvin...?" Jane didn't finish her sentence.

"He's dead is what he is," Rebecca snapped. "Thanks to that fucking madman back there."

Lee sighed. "We'll figure it out, Rebecca...Carlos can help too, right? And Clem and I have a little bit of knowledge," he said, remembering when they had to help Omid and Christa bring little Genevieve into the world. He hadn't thought about them in a long while, but he hoped Omid and Genevieve were still out there somewhere.

"Thanks, Lee," Rebecca nodded.

A moment of silence passed before anybody spoke again. "What are you going to do with it?" Jane questioned.

Rebecca turned to look at the smaller girl. "What do you mean by that?" she retorted.

"I'm just thinking of the worst case scenario." Jane referred to Rebecca's unborn baby. "It's going to need food, and other stuff. You can't raise a baby out here by yourself!"

"That baby is coming, like it or not," Clementine said, knowing that Rebecca was rather close to giving birth now.

"Fine. And then what?!" Jane snapped. "It'll be helpless, and you can't protect it!"

"And you say I'm not capable enough?" Rebecca shot back. "You know, just because you're some angry loner doesn't mean you know better than me!"

"Hey!"

"Stop this," Lee cut them both off. "We can't be fighting out here like this. It won't solve anything." He knew this very well, from experience. "Look, we need to get to Parker's Run. The others might be waiting."

There was a silence, and then the four of them began walking again. In the distance, they could see the demolished museum exhibit approaching. Bonnie, Mike, and Reggie were talking to one another. Sarita's arm looked to be bandaged up, and she and Kenny were sitting on the edge of the fountain together. Lilly was leaning against a wall with her arms crossed, and Carlos was seated on a bench, facing away from the group with his head in his hands. He looked like a complete mess.

"We can't just sit here doing nothing," Mike said to Bonnie.

"I know, I know...they'll be here soon," Bonnie replied.

"Speaking of them," Reggie added. "Look who it is." He pointed off to the entrance where Lee, Rebecca, Jane, and Clementine walked in.

"Holy shit," Mike commented.

"It had been so long..." Bonnie trailed off as they approached. "We were starting to think nobody else would make it. We're glad you're here," she replied. "Now hopefully we can figure out a plan."

"Luke? Nick? Sarah?" Lee questioned.

Reggie shrugged. "No sign of them yet, but everyone else is here."

"And Sarita's arm?" Lee asked, knowing it was his fault that Kenny was giving everyone the cold shoulder right now. Even though she had lived, he was still pissed at Lee. But this of course, wasn't the first time Lee had pissed off his friend.

"Carlos took care of it," Bonnie answered. "She seems okay."

"Good," he nodded. "I should probably go and talk to them..."

"I've been nervous to even go near him," Mike admitted.

Jane scoffed. "What? You think he's gonna shoot you?"

Mike briefly looked back at Kenny, who was speaking softly to Sarita. "Since Sarita's arm got chopped off, he's been pissed."

"I saved her life," Lee spoke up with a frown. "I had to do it. She would have died if I hadn't."

"You did the right thing, Lee," Bonnie said.

"That's right," Reggie added. "We were lucky to seek out medical supplies here, too. That's how Carlos fixed her arm."

"Speaking of Carlos..." Clementine trailed off.

Carlos' back was turned to all of them, but from the way his shoulders were shaking, it was a possibility that he was crying. But they were a bit far away to hear him.

"With the way Sarah was screamin'? I was sure she didn't make it, either," Bonnie sighed, shaking her head. "But...we don't know what's happened to her."

"Isn't that why Luke and Nick ran off, too?" Rebecca asked.

Clementine nodded. "They went after her."

Lee sighed. "Clem, you stay here, alright? I'm gonna go talk to Kenny," he said, before walking over to where Kenny sat with Sarita on the fountain. "Hey, Kenny, Sarita," he greeted, standing in front of them. The foreign woman's arm was nothing but a nub now, and Lee could barely look at her. Hell, he knew he saved her, but still, he felt guilty. "How you guys holding up?" he inquired.

"We're okay," Sarita answered. "And if it wasn't for you, Lee..." she trailed off, unable to finish her sentence.

"Don't mention it," Lee waived it off. If he was being honest with himself, he didn't even know if cutting it off would work. Kenny didn't say anything, he only looked at Lee, a harsh glare in his eyes. "Look, Kenny, I'm sorry. I know I had no right to take her arm off right then and there, but she's alive, isn't she?" he inquired. "That's gotta be something."

Sarita placed her one hand on top of Kenny's. "Kenny, please, you should not be angry with him. I am still here, as are you. Please, don't be upset."

Kenny looked at Sarita, then Lee, and then his gaze averted downwards. "Alright, hon," he said, rubbing her hand with his thumb. "You're right, you're still here. That's somethin' I'm thankful for right now." This made Sarita smile, and Kenny looked at Lee again with a sigh. "I'm sorry, Lee. Uh, how's the eye?"

"Still hurts like shit," Lee grumbled. "Carver bashed my head in pretty good."

"Sure looks like it," Kenny replied.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Sarita inquired.

"I'll be alright," Lee reassured them. "I'll let you guys go for now. See you later."

"See ya, Lee," Kenny said with a nod.

Lee walked over to one of the walls, where everyone except for Carlos, Kenny, and Sarita were discussing plans.

"We can't just sit here and do nothing forever," Lilly said. "I'm going fucking crazy. It's not safe."

"It's still early," Bonnie answered.

"How'd it go?" Rebecca asked as she saw Lee approaching them.

Lee nodded. "It went okay," he answered. "He's not mad anymore."

"Still," Mike replied. "It's not going to help us figure out what we're going to do now. We've got no food, no water...it's getting damn cold, and we're losing daylight fast," he continued, listing off all the things that were against him.

"When the others get back, we'll think of a plan...Luke should have one." Bonnie replied.

"We thought Kenny would have a plan," he shot back.

"Mike... Bonnie..." Rebecca chided.

"Mike's got a point, though," Jane jumped in. "We can't just sit around waiting. Things are difficult as it is, and we might have a baby on our hands pretty soon." She stood up and approached them.

Rebecca scoffed. "So you're concerned now?"

"She's right," Lee said. "And I don't think Carlos is in any shape to deliver a baby." He looked over to the Hispanic man. "We've got to come up with something."

"We should probably go find Luke, Sarah, and Nick," Clementine spoke up.

"Clementine's right," Rebecca agreed. "After everything...after all this. If there's any chance they're still alive, we need to take it."

"Carlos would probably be able to help us, if we're able to find Sarah and get her back to him," Lee said, looking over at Carlos one more time. He didn't seem to hear them.

"I'll go," Jane volunteered. "Lee, you and Clem can come with me."

"We'll handle it if things go wrong here," Lilly spoke up, getting out a bloodied knife from her pocket. Rebecca pulled out Carver's revolver.

Jane nodded once. "Okay, then. Come on." She led Lee and Clementine away from Parker's Run and into the woods.


	24. Regrouping and Reuniting

Lee and Clementine took the lead, Jane following behind them. They walked and walked along the path in the woods, Clem gripping Lee's hand gently, her eyes extra careful in case any walkers were to jump out at them. Lee hoped that Nick, Luke, and Sarah were okay. Hell, he knew Carlos had to be hurting right now, thinking that his daughter was dead. They needed to find them, and quick.

"You should know that finding your friends alive is a shot in the dark," Jane spoke, interrupting the silence around them.

Lee turned around to look at her. "How would you know?"

"People just don't get out of situations like that," she replied.

"You'd be surprised," Lee retorted. "Clem and I have gotten ourselves out of some pretty damn bad things, so has Kenny...and Carlos, Lilly..." he trailed off with a shrug. "Luke and Nick are strong, and as for Sarah...she's smarter than you think she is," he continued as they walked.

"Listen, I'm sorry, but...there's probably no way she got out of that with her screaming," Jane answered.

"But she ran away," Clementine pointed out. "She had to have gotten out. She just had to..." A worried look crossed her features, as that her friend out there in danger. Afraid and helpless.

Jane stopped walking, remaining silent for a moment. "That group is cracking," she said. "And, well, a lot of times, it's better to be on your own."

"Maybe there's not always strength in numbers," Lee answered, "but it doesn't mean you should always be alone. There's nobody to watch your back that way."

"But you don't want to be there when they start...turning on each other," Jane warned them. "And how much help is that doctor gonna be, anyway? He's more of a liability than ever. And Rebecca's 'situation' won't make things better back there."

"Carlos will be fine," Lee told her as they began walking again. "And how do you get along without trust, anyway?"

"That's how I get along," Jane replied, smiling slightly. "For what it's worth, I like most of the people in your crew, but...groups fall apart."

"Then why are you still here?" Lee inquired, but she didn't have time to answer, because Nick came running out of the woods.

"Lee! Clementine!" He sounded as though he was out of breath, and his shoulder was heavily bandaged. But he managed to make it to them anyway, and he stopped to catch his breath. "I'm so glad you guys are okay...is everyone else?" he questioned, worry crossing his face.

Lee nodded. "Everyone else is fine. What about Sarah? Luke?"

Nick nodded. "They're alive...but, Sarah, she's in bad shape, she thinks Carlos is dead."

"Where are they?" Jane asked.

"There's a trailer park nearby, they're hoarded up there," he answered.

Lee nodded. "Alright, let's go. Show us the way, Nick."

"Yeah, come on." Nick turned around and ran into the other direction, with Lee, Clementine, and Jane following. They came over to a boarded up fence, with the trailer park on the other side. Jane noticed two walkers, and ran over to them.

"What are you doing?" Lee all but hissed at her.

"Checking them," the woman answered, stabbing one of them in the head with a screwdriver.

"We don't have time for this shit!" Nick nearly yelled. "Why the hell would walkers have anything on them, anyway?"

"Because these walkers might have good stuff," Jane explained. "They weren't walkers all that long ago. They were survivors. They might have useful stuff."

She began searching through the dead walker's pockets. "You check that one," she said to Clementine. "See what he's got."

Clementine reached into the pockets, the only useful thing being two shots of ammunition, which Lee praised her for finding. Jane, on the other hand, found a nail file, the tip sharpened. Then, she got up and went over to another walker in the corner.

"Luke killed that one when we were going after Sarah," Nick pointed out.

"Here, give me a hand," Jane told Lee, who obliged. The two of them pushed the walker out of the way, revealing Sarah's red glasses. One of the lenses was cracked.

Clementine picked them up, and put them in her pocket, she knew Sarah would be thankful for them. Once they finished checking the walkers, the four of them continued to the trailer park.

"Sarah, goddamn it!" Luke's voice could be heard in the distance, and Lee knew they were close, so they continued to follow Nick.

"Through here," he told them, leading them through a hole in the fence. "It's how I got out."

Once they were all through the fence, Lee asked, "Now what?"

Nick looked around. "Shit, there's more walkers here than when I left."

"We need a plan," Jane spoke.

Lee looked with careful eyes, "Okay, Nick, how about you get the close one, and I'll hop the fence to get the other one?" he suggested as he eyed the wandering lurkers. Taking them out wouldn't be too hard. Nick followed his line of sight, and saw to where he was looking, and then nodded. He crouched carefully, and then went to stab the walker head on.

"I've got a nice little addition to your arsenal," Jane said, and jumped over the fence. She kicked the walker in the knees, sending it down, and then stabbed it with the nail file. "Take out the knees first," she advised. "Let's see what we've got on deck."

Nick's eyes widened when he noticed the amount of walkers that had added up since he had left. "Shit, what are we gonna do?"

"It's gonna take some work to get over there," Lee added.

"Let's see if we can find something that'll distract them," Jane said, walking forward.

Clementine was about to stab the nearest walker in the head when it grabbed her by the wrist, trying to bite it. It took all her might, but she did eventually manage to break free from it's grip, and stabbed it. Le kicked down another walker, and killed that one.

"You did the knee thing. Nice trick, huh?" Jane said.

All of them looked at the walkers pounding on the trailer door.

"That's a lot of walkers," Clementine stated the obvious.

"We're gonna have to make some noise to get them away," Jane said. "And what gets the interest of the dead?"

"People," Lee replied.

"If we can make enough noise on this side, then it could lure them away," Lee thought aloud. "Then, we could use the other trailer to get to Luke and Sarah."

All of them managed to kill the scattered walkers that weren't surrounding the trailer, and now they just needed a plan to lure the walkers away. There was a truck nearby, and that was about the only thing that deemed useful at the moment.

"The horn," Clementine spoke. "It should be loud enough, right?" she inquired.

Lee nodded. "Good thinking, Clem," he praised.

"Give me a hand, Lee?" Jane asked as she began to pick up one of the dead walkers. They'd use its weight to keep the horn going, and that should be enough time for them to get inside the trailer, get Luke and Sarah, and get the hell back to Parker's Run with the others. The plan worked, because the horn honked continuously, and some of the walkers began to drift away from the trailer.

"Let's go!" Nick nearly yelled.

They all ran inside the other trailer, where a walker was pounding on the window, trying to get outside. Jane killed it, and Lee nearly jumped out of his skin as he heard the second one trying to sneak up behind him. He killed it quickly, and just as that was done with, the horn stopped sounding.

"We need to move our asses, let's go!" Jane yelled, and they all ran to the other trailer, only to find the door locked.

"It's locked!" Lee yelled.

"Think of something else!" Jane shouted. "Kick it down if you have to!"

Lee obliged, using all of his strength to kick the door down in one try. Nick ran into the back room, where Luke and Sarah were, while Clementine and Lee helped Jane block the door with a dresser. From the back room, Sarah let out a startled scream.

Luke opened the door, holding his machete. "Lee, Clem, thank God you're alright!" he said. He turned to Nick. "Good job finding them."

"Are you alright?" Lee inquired. "And Sarah?"

"I'm walkin'...can't do much else," Luke replied. "But Sarah, she's another story. I don't know what to do about her."

"Carlos is alive," Clementine said. "He's at Parker's Run. He thinks...she's dead."

Luke's eyes widened. "Shit, are you serious?" He turned around and led them to where Sarah was. She was seated on the ground, hugging her knees close to her chest, crying softly. The shock and fear on her face was palpable.

"Sarah, look, it's Clem and Lee, see? I told you they were okay," Luke said as all five of them looked down at the teen girl. "We have to go now," he continued.

"Sarah, your dad is alive!" Clementine exclaimed. "He's at Parker's Run with everyone else..." she trailed off.

"We don't have time for this!" Jane snapped, hearing the walkers banging on the door. "We can't stay here!"

"Sarah..." Luke trailed off. "Come on."

"Is he...really there?" she questioned, barely looking up at everyone else.

"We wouldn't lie to you, Sarah. We promise you, he's there," Lee answered. "He misses you very much. Do you want to go see him?"

Sarah nodded. For a moment, she remained still, but slowly rose to her feet. She was still trembling and crying, and Clementine could see how afraid she was. She reached into her pocket and handed her friend her glasses, and Sarah put them on.

A walker banged on the window, and Jane turned. "Crap, we're surrounded," she grumbled. Then, she looked up. "What about the skylight?"

"All we got," Luke replied.

Sarah turned to the walker, and at that, her breathing became irregular. "C-Clem," she squeaked out, feeling very frightened. They needed to get out of her quickly, and get Sarah back to Carlos. "I...I..."

"We're gonna get out of here, Sarah, but you need to calm down," Nick spoke in a much gentler tone than Luke had. "Listen, we're gonna count to 10, okay? It'll be fine."

"We don't have time for this!" Jane yelled, running from the room.

"Get to the skylight!" Lee said, once the dresser was pushed into the room.

"Come on," Nick offered. "I'll boost you guys." And one by one, each of them were lifted out of the skylight, with Nick being the last one. Lee helped pull him up and they stood on top of the trailer, glad that they all had made it out in one piece. Despite Luke's injuries, everyone was fine.

"We gotta go," Jane said, jumping down from the trailer with everyone else following behind. The walk back to Parker's Run didn't take long, and it was mostly in silence. The small group walked through the thick foliage of the woods, trying to hurry, because they knew that Rebecca's baby would be on the way soon.

"Is...um, is Lilly okay too?" Sarah inquired gently, breaking the silence.

Lee nodded. "She'll be happy to see you."

A small smile graced her lips. "Okay."

"I hate to ask this," Luke panted. "But are we there yet?"

"We're not far," Lee answered.

"Do you need to stop?" Nick asked. "I'm sure a few minutes wouldn't hurt."

"No, no, I'm alright, I can make it," Luke assured him with a small smile. He was in pain, but he wasn't showing it at that moment - well, other than the fact that he was holding on to his broken ribs.

"You sure? You ain't in much shape to do anything," Nick pointed out.

"I'm fine, Nick. Just...you don't need to worry."

"Okay." Nick still looked skeptical, but he let it go for now. Carlos would probably look him over once they returned.

"Are we almost there?" Sarah asked, and then looked ashamed as if she had done something wrong.

"Not long, Sarah," Clementine assured her. "Your dad's gonna be really happy to see you, you know that?"

Sarah smiled. It wasn't exactly a big one, but it was more noticeable than earlier. "Yeah. I'm gonna be happy to see him, too."

"Let's get back to your friends," Jane told them, not wanting to stall as she quickened her pace slightly.

Before long, Parker's Run was within sight. Mike and Reggie were at the front, waiting for them. "Son of a bitch, you found 'em!" Mike cried.

"Yeah, I'm a little amazed myself, to tell you the truth," Luke answered as Nick led him to a seat by the fountain.

Sarah looked around, hoping to find her father, or at least Lilly. "Daddy?"

From where he was sitting, Carlos' head snapped up, wanting to be sure that what he heard hadn't been his imagination. "Sarah?"

He turned around, and there she was, looking for him. _She was alive._ "Sarah!" He leaped up and began running to her.

Sarah turned to him. "Daddy!" she screamed, only having to run a few steps in order to be caught in his tight embrace. She began to cry into his shirt immediately, and he shushed her as he stroked her hair, not letting her go.

"You're not hurt, are you?" he questioned gently.

She shook her head. "Are you?"

He smiled slightly. "I'm fine now."

"Hell, if it weren't for Lee, Clem, and Jane, we might not have ever made it out of there." Luke said, as he looked over at Mike and Reggie. That's when Bonnie came walking up, and she had a firm grip on Rebecca, who looked to be in pain.

"Thank God," the pregnant woman said, relief written all over her face. "Are you all okay?"

"We are now," Nick answered, glancing back at Sarah and Carlos. "What about you, Becs? You alright?"

A look of pain overcame Rebecca. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just...I need-" Then, she grunted in pain. "Oh, God!"

Hearing this, Carlos turned around for a moment, then looked back to his daughter. "I promise I'll be right back, sweetie," he told Sarah. "I need to check on Rebecca. Why don't you go find Lilly? She would like to see you."

Sarah wiped her remaining tears away and hesitated for a moment with a look of worry, before nodding and turning in the other direction.

"Are you okay?" Mike was asking Rebecca. "How does it feel?"

"It feels wet, that's how it feels," Rebecca shot back.

"What's going on?" Clementine asked.

"Rebecca's water broke," Carlos answered.

"Shit..." Reggie muttered.

"Is that supposed to happen?" Clementine questioned.

"Carlos..." Rebecca breathed out. "What do we do?"

"We need a safe place," he answered. "Somewhere that walkers can't get to us, and the baby can be delivered," he added as he took Bonnie's place in helping Rebecca stand up. His hand wrapped around her aching back so that she could stand. "And we'll definitely need water, and clean blankets," he said.

"We gotta make it quick," Jane said. "She's gonna make a lot of noise. They'll be able to smell her, too."

"Those maps on the billboard could tell us what to do," Mike pointed them out.

Bonnie walked forward, and looked to the direction of the museum. "The museum could be a good start. I'll go."

"You think you can go with her, Mike?" Luke asked.

"Sure thing," he said.

"I'll go to the building by the river," Jane volunteered, walking away.

"Nick, you and I will scout the perimeter for walkers," Luke said, and Nick nodded. "Lee, maybe you can go with Jane?"

"I'll go, too," Lilly said, walking up to them. Sarah was alongside her, and she went to sit on the fountain. "We'll watch _her._" Here, she nodded towards Jane.

"Sure, we can do that," Lee replied. "Clem, you think you could go with Mike and Bonnie?"

"Okay," Clementine nodded.

"Well, y'all better catch up, then," Luke said. "Alright, everyone, you know what to do. Let's be fast, and be careful."


	25. The Observation Deck

Lilly led Lee over to the observation deck area, where she and the rest of the cabin group had previously stayed after escaping from Howe's the first time. When Lee noticed Jane sitting alone at one of the picnic tables, he held out a hand to stop Lilly from walking.

"Let me talk to her for a minute, Lilly," he said. "Why don't you go on up?"

For a moment, Lilly looked reluctant, but she knew she didn't have much choice. "Fine. Don't be long." And with the, she adjusted her rifle and walked over to the stairs.

Lee approached Jane. "What are you doing, Jane? You okay?"

Jane looked surprised to see him, for some reason, but she answered him anyway. "Getting lost in thought. It's not the safest habit to have these days. But...you were right. Sometimes it's good to have someone watching your back." Then, she stood up. "Come on, let's go check out that deck."

"You don't seem okay," Lee added as they began to walk towards the stairs of the deck.

"Yeah, well. Who is okay?" she retorted. "Let's just focus on this right now."

"I hope this place is what we're looking for," Lee replied with a shrug as they stared at the steps ahead. "God knows we could use a break." He walked up the steps with Jane following close behind him. He hoped that Lilly had already found something useful. After all, it was a gift shop and observation deck. If it hadn't already been wiped clean, they were bound to find something up there.

"Find anything?" he inquired once he saw Lilly trying to get the gate open.

"It's locked..." she grumbled, still fumbling with the padlock on the gate.

"Maybe it means that no one's gotten to whatever's in there," Jane pointed out.

"That could be a good place for Rebecca to have the baby," Lee smiled. "Lilly, you mentioned that you guys spent the night up here?"

"We didn't lock it when we left," Lilly answered, standing up. She glanced at both Jane and Lee. "Do either of you have something we can pick the lock with?"

"Actually, I do," Jane answered, pulling the nail file out of her pocket.

"The nail file?" Lee asked with a frown.

"Versatility is not overrated." Jane bent down and began to work her magic. "You know, it might not hurt to have some bigger hands with this thing. We might have to bust the mechanism. You guys look around for something bigger."

Lilly didn't look particularly happy about being ordered around, especially since she still considered herself to be the leader around here. But what choice was there other than to oblige?

There was nothing useful around, until Lilly looked into the garbage can, that is, when she noticed a full bag. She frowned and took it out. When she opened it, however, her eyes widened as she looked at its contents.

"Holy shit," she said. "Lee, come look at this. This bag is full of medical supplies!"

Lee obliged and walked over to where she was standing. "Really?"

"Yeah, look," she said, holding the bag open so Lee could see the contents inside. "This is just what we needed. Carlos could definitely use this stuff," she added. "We're taking it," she decided right then and there. Rebecca needed every single thing in that bag.

Lee nodded, and turned back around to Jane. "Any luck on that lock?" he inquired.

"Not yet." She shook her head.

They continued to look around, nothing else really much proving to be useful around here. It wasn't until a few moments later, Lee noticed a small figure emerging from the woods just a few ways from the observation deck. "Guys..." he trailed off. "There's someone coming," he warned.

Lilly and Jane stopped what they were doing and crouched down next to Lee near the entrance. All of them noticed a young man, presumably in his late teens, coming towards the deck. He was limping slightly.

"Shit, shit, shit, he's coming this way," Jane cursed. "And who knows if he has friends nearby?"

Lilly loaded her rifle, for good measure. "We can't hide here. We need to scope him out and see what he's up to. I don't like him sneaking around so close to the others."

"I can distract him," Lee said. "See what this kid is up to."

"Good call," Jane said. When the boy began ascending the steps, she quickly added, "Shit! Hide, now!"

Lee took a place behind the cannon, while Jane and Lilly walked down the other staircase that led to the exit. The boy stopped in front of the garbage can, and began to panic in what sounded like Russian.

"_Нет нет нет! Где это? Где это?_" the boy exclaimed, placing his hands to his head. ("No, no, no! Where is it? Where _is_ it?")

After a few seconds, Lee emerged from behind the cannon. "Hey!"

The boy turned, pulling out a gun with shaky hands. In return, Lee put his hands up.

"I just want to talk to you," he tried to assure him, not wanting to cause trouble. "Who are you?"

"I am Arvo," the teen replied, shaking slightly as he held out his pistol. "Did you find my...bag?" He asked, turning to look at the trash can quickly. "I really need it," he added.

"Bag?" Lee inquired, and then remembered the one Lilly had found only moments ago.

"I am going to go now, I don't want to shoot," he replied.

"You don't have to shoot anyone," Lee said as he noticed Jane sneaking up behind him. "Just put the gun down," he continued to talk. But it was too late, Jane had jumped out and taken Arvo's gun, pointing it at him instead.

"Back up," she ordered.

Lilly came out behind her, pointing her rifle directly between Arvo's eyes. That was when Arvo noticed that his bag was slung over her shoulder.

"That is...that is my bag," he said, trembling slightly. "You...thieves!"

"Oh, you mean this?" Lilly sneered, nodding towards the bag. "Who the fuck leaves medical supplies out in the open where _anyone_ could take them? Are you really that fucking stupid?"

"It's ours now," Jane added.

"No, no, no, no, no!" Arvo cried. "Take whatever you want, but...don't take that medicine! It's for my sister! She is sick."

"Sick? What?" Lilly asked, her glare intensifying.

"The-the pain makes her cry, and that makes those things come! Please, please don't take it!" Arvo begged.

"Why are you hiding it?" Lee wanted to know, his brows narrowing.

"Sister or not, we could really use that stuff," Jane said. She didn't lower the gun.

"No! You are not nice people!" Arvo cried. "You leave me defenseless, and now...you take my sister's medicine!" He began speaking Russian.

"We have people who _need_ this medicine!" Lilly nearly yelled. "Don't tell me you guys believe this bullshit story."

"My people need this medicine just as much as yours! You're not special," Arvo replied.

Lee sighed. "We can't take it..." he said. "It's not right."

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Lilly exclaimed. "Rebecca needs this medicine."

"It's not ours," he retorted, glaring at the younger woman.

"So what?" Lilly questioned. "We found it. We should be able to take it."

"Lilly, we can't," Lee shook his head, and took the bag from her, giving it back to Arvo. Both Jane and Lilly still had their guns pointed at him, to make sure he wasn't a threat. "You go back to your sister," he told the young man. "But don't come back here," he warned, before letting Arvo go.

"Goddamn it, Lee!" Lilly yelled. "Why would you do that?" she questioned, pissed off, as they watched Arvo disappear back into the woods.

Jane tossed the gun aside, walking over to the edge of the deck. "I can't believe we've gotten into this mess...threatening some stupid kid."

"I thought we were just gonna talk to him!" Lee retorted. He turned to Lilly, who was still glaring ferociously at him, until she turned around and stomped off down the stairs. No doubt she would be letting the others know about this.

Jane squeezed the bridge of her nose, looking like she was about to cry. "Go get the others," she told Lee, walking back over to the gift shop entrance. "I'm gonna get this place open, and then we need to get moving ASAP."

As Lee walked down the stairs, he noticed Luke coming towards the observation deck with his own rifle. Nick wasn't with him.

"Lee!" the younger man called, walking over to him. "I was just checking on Rebecca and Carlos, and they said they hadn't heard from you in awhile. Clem's still at the museum with Mike and Bonnie."

Lee was satisfied with that, because at the very least Clementine was still safe. "That deck up there seems like a good place for Rebecca to give birth," he replied. "I mean, if we can't find anything better."

"Is Jane still up there?" Luke asked.

Lee nodded. "Yeah, she's trying to get the gift shop open."

"You know, I can't figure her out," he sighed as he walked forward. "And I'm never quite sure if she just doesn't like people, or just doesn't like me," he continued.

"I'm not sure what to think, either," Lee said. "She's been through a lot, that's for sure."

"Ain't we all?" Luke retorted.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Lee said, "I'm gonna go check on Clementine and the others," he said, before leaving Luke alone and walking back towards Parker's Run. He walked and walked, and when he got there he saw Rebecca, Carlos, Sarita, Reggie, Kenny, Nick, and Sarah sitting at the fountain. Nick and Sarah were exchanging words, as were Lilly and Carlos, and Reggie, Kenny, and Sarita were doing their best to comfort Rebecca.

"I'm not supposed to be in labor yet..." Rebecca trailed off as she continued to walk around.

"Babies know how to be born," Kenny replied. "Carlos knows what he's doing, too."

"Did you find anything, Lee?" Sarita inquired.

"The building around back has an observation deck," Lee explained. "We can spend the night there, plus, it looks safe enough for Rebecca to have the baby. Jane's trying to get it open."

"Good, good," Kenny said. "As soon as Mike, Bonnie, and Clem get back, we'll go."

"Glad you and Lilly made it back safe, Lee," Rebecca commented.

"How are you feeling?" Lee asked her sympathetically.

"Scared. And it hurts." She paused. "I wish Alvin was here."

"Alvin was a good man, everything he did was for you and the baby," Lee replied. Then, he smiled, trying to help her think of something positive. "He said once that the baby's gonna be a girl."

Rebecca chuckled. "That big dope never had a sense on these things. I have a feeling that this one's a boy." A few seconds later, she grunted in pain, causing Carlos to turn around and go check on her once more.

"No one's seen Mike, Bonnie, or Clem in a while..." Kenny trailed off, looking in the direction of the museum.

"Clementine's with them, they're okay," Lee said. "I know it. Just relax, Kenny. They'll be back soon."

Kenny sighed. "Alright. They better be."

Lee had confidence that Clementine was just fine with Bonnie and Mike. To take his mind off of her for a while, he checked up on the others while he waited.


	26. A Lucky Break

Clementine, Bonnie, and Mike were just finishing up at the museum. They had found water, blankets, and even an old coat for Rebecca to use if she had gotten cold or if the baby needed it. Mike grabbed the water, ready to head back to Parker's Run when he saw Lee walking from the distance.

"Everything alright?" Mike asked when the other man finally made it to them, putting the water down so he wouldn't have to hold it this whole time.

Clem ran over to her guardian and hugged him, glad he had made it back okay. "Hey, sweet pea." He smiled at her, then looked over to Mike. "Yeah, everything's fine, just thought I'd come check out the museum while we're here." He turned to look, taking in everything.

"Ain't much here," Bonnie said, walking over to the three of them.

Lee looked around, a big smile on his face. His eyes were bright, mirthful. "A history museum. Must've been a damn fine place before the world went to hell."

"I take it you like it?" Bonnie inquired.

Lee nodded. "I was actually a history professor at the University of Georgia."

"Sounds like a good job," Mike commented. That was when a noise startled the four of them. "What was that?"

They crouched down by a wall, only to see a lone raccoon wandering around the museum.

"Hmm, might make a nice meal, could go a long way with Rebecca," Bonnie mused. "Just walked in here like it owned the place."

"We can eat raccoon?" Clementine asked.

"I'd eat the shit out of that raccoon," Mike muttered. "I mean...you know. But damn it, I'm hungry."

"It's over there!" Clementine pointed to a shelf where the raccoon hid behind. Lee, Bonnie, and Mike all tried to run after it and catch it, but the little creature was too fast for them. Finally, it was able to run back to the outside of the museum, where a few other smaller raccoons emerged.

"It has a family!" Clem exclaimed.

"I'm even hungrier than I was before..." Mike trailed off.

"I'm glad it got away," Clem replied.

"You guys ready to head back?" Lee asked. "We found a place for Rebecca."

"Yeah, let's go," Mike said. He went back towards the ticket booth and, much to Lee's surprise, came out with two rather large jugs of water.

"Uh, you sure you'll be okay carrying both of those?" Lee questioned. "I can carry one if you want."

"Nah, I got it," Mike replied, walking out with both jugs.

It didn't take long for Clementine, Lee, Mike, and Bonnie to make it back towards Parker's Run. Bonnie and Mike were making lighthearted conversation when they all heard Rebecca scream.

Sure enough, the woman was deep into labor, and the baby was coming fast. Carlos was keeping watch over her, while Kenny and Sarita were trying to keep her steady.

"Shit, shit, oh God!" Rebecca cried.

"Breathe like I told you," Kenny encouraged her.

"It's going to be okay," Sarita added. She looked at Carlos and Lilly. "She cannot stay here. Where is this place you found, Lilly?"

Sarah was the first to hear the growling noises, and she turned around, only to see a ton of walkers emerging from the forest.

"D-Dad...Dad...Lilly!" she barely managed to get out, clearly beginning to panic as her breathing became irregular.

"Shit, walkers!" Reggie called out.

"How the hell they get that close?" Mike questioned.

That's when Nick came running from out of the woods. "There's lurkers everywhere! Where the fuck is Luke?" he questioned, looking around frantically. "Goddamn it," he said, attempting to kill some of the walkers so the group had time to escape and whatnot.

"Ken, we gotta do something," Lee insisted.

"You just keep that baby safe," Kenny said, before standing up with the crowbar and walking into the crowd of lurkers.

"Kenny, no!" Sarita called out, attempting to stop him before he did something stupid. Meanwhile, Carlos had gotten Rebecca on her feet, and he and Lilly were leading her to the observation deck with Sarah trailing right behind them.

Lee grabbed the hatchet from his pocket and turned to Mike. "Mike, get the water. I'll go help Kenny."

"On it!" Mike said, going to do his job.

"Lee!" Clementine cried out, not wanting him to do this.

Lee turned back to her. "It's alright, Clem, I've got this," he tried to reassure her, but her worried facial expression told him that it wasn't helping in the slightest. "Catch up with the others, I'll be right there. Go!"

Clementine had no choice but to oblige to his wishes, and took off running in the other direction.

She followed behind Reggie, Bonnie, Mike, Sarita, and Nick, and they were following Lilly, Carlos, Rebecca, and Sarah. Luke was still nowhere to be found, and Jane was presumably still at the observation deck. The group walked hurriedly though, trying to lose the walkers during the way.

Lilly was the first to climb the stairs, and she heard Luke's voice immediately. "...that's about as human as I've felt in a long time."

"Are you fucking serious?" she interrogated, glaring at Luke and Jane who were sitting up against the wall together.

"Lilly!" Luke gasped, whipping around to face the woman. Jane was fixing up her boot with a smirk on her face. "J-Jesus! I-It's not..."

"In here! Let's get you comfortable," Bonnie told Rebecca as she and Carlos led her inside.

"Were you even keeping watch?" Lilly yelled. "There are a shit ton of walkers coming this way! What the hell were you two thinking?"

The rest of the group was up at the observation deck at that point. Reggie and Mike made their way to close the latch to the other exit.

"Rebecca's having the baby!" Clementine cried out.

"Now?!" Luke exclaimed. "Fuck...I'm sorry."

Rebecca let out another pain-filled scream, and Carlos gently helped her get settled on the ground. Sarita and Bonnie took either hand. Walkers could be heard coming towards the stairs, which Mike announced to everyone.

"We have to shoot them before they get to us," Lee announced, holding his own rifle.

"What should I...?" Luke trailed off.

"You wanna help?" Kenny asked harshly. "Get out there and keep the walkers off of us!"

"Go!" Carlos yelled. "The baby is coming, I need room!"

"They're coming up the stairs!" Nick yelled, using his gun to try and take out the one's closest to them.

Lee came up to Clementine. "You want to help, sweet pea?" he asked, "Here." He handed her a small pistol so she could help eliminate some of the walkers as well. She smiled at him, and began firing away so they wouldn't make it up the steps. Rebecca's screams could be heard in the background, as well as Carlos', Bonnie's, and Sarita's words of encouragement. Everyone else, however, was buy trying to keep the walkers under control.

"Sarah?" Carlos called out from all the mayhem. "Sarah, sweetie, I need you back here with me," he continued. Albeit, she did know how to shoot, he didn't want her out there watching all the bloodshed. She could come and help with Rebecca and the baby. She walked in the gift shop, looking frantically at her father, wondering what she should do.

"The blankets," he said, nodding over in the direction they were at. She obliged and grabbed them.

"There's too many walkers!" Reggie yelled out.

"Keep shooting!" Lilly ordered.

They obliged, but there were too many walkers outside the gate. Mike, Reggie, Bonnie, and Luke went to hold it, but it wasn't doing much good.

"Find something to hold this thing!" Luke yelled.

"The cannon!" Lee exclaimed. "Clem, help me with this."

Clementine nodded and ran over to the back of the cannon. Together, the two of them pushed the cannon over to the gate, which ended up being too heavy. Half of the deck began to break out from underneath them, sending it, along with all of the walkers, down.

Jane, however, didn't get to the other end quickly enough, and would have fallen through if Luke hadn't grabbed her hand.

"What the fuck is going on out there?" Kenny yelled.

Lee looked down at the deck that had fallen. "They're climbing up!" he exclaimed as Rebecca screamed in the background.

"We need to break the rest of the deck," Lilly said.

"She's right!" Luke said. "Drop the rest of the deck."

"Drop the rest of...are you fucking crazy?" Mike questioned.

"How we gonna do that?" Bonnie asked.

"Lee?" Lilly turned to look at him. "Can you?"

Lee nodded and ran for the edges that were holding up the deck. He banged into it a few times with his hatchet until the rest of it came crashing down, and then all was quiet...even Rebecca's screams had stopped. But what about the baby?

Carlos was in the gift shop, patting the baby's back to try and get it to breathe. Rebecca's face was crestfallen, as were everyone else's.

However, it wasn't long before the baby began coughing and crying just a bit, showing its first signs of life. Relief washed over the group, and Rebecca smiled. Carlos cleaned the baby up and wrapped it - him - up in a blanket before handing him to the new mother.

"It's a boy," Carlos said.

"Congratulations," Lee added, and Rebecca smiled over at him.

"Well, it's been a long day," Luke announced. "I think we should all get some rest."

Everyone agreed, and lay down in different areas of the gift shop. Since there was quite the amount of people, a few of them had to sleep by the entrance. Carlos hummed a soft song to Sarah that had always calmed her down, for the first time in a long time. When he was sure she was asleep, he slowly got up and leaned against the outside wall to collect his thoughts.

Lilly, who had decided to take watch, noticed him. "Are you okay?"

Carlos paused, unsure of how else to answer. "...I will never forget her screams. Sarah...I thought she was gone."

"She thought you were gone too, you know," she replied.

"Yeah," Carlos nodded.

"It's okay, she's fine...she's tougher than you give her credit for, Carlos." Lilly smirked, speaking fondly of the teen girl. Despite everything she had been through, she still had a soft spot in her heart for Sarah. That girl would be able to get her any day.

"I know...It's just...I can't even begin to imagine her gone. I have to be more careful, this changes everything," he replied.

"You're doing fine," she encouraged. "And our group is bigger now, she has more people looking out for her."

"Still." He shook his head.

Lilly sighed. "Why don't you just go get some sleep? I know you need it."

He nodded, and stood up from the wall. "Goodnight, Lilly."

"Night, Carlos."

Clementine awoke awhile later, Lee still sleeping beside her, as well as everyone else in their rather large group. She noticed though, that Rebecca was still awake. She was propped against the wall, staring at her newborn baby cradled in her hands.

"How's he doing?" Clem asked quietly, curious about the little guy. Seeing him reminded her of Christa and Genevieve, and for a moment, she wondered if the other baby was still alive.

"He's perfect," Rebecca answered.

"He looks just like Alvin." She smiled.

"You really think?"

"Yeah, definitely."

Before she could say anything, Rebecca coughed. "I'm fine, I'm fine," she tried to reassure Clementine. "I just wish I could get warm."

"Clem, why don't you give her that coat we found?" Mike suggested. Turning to lie back down, he added, "Sorry, y'know, about the color."

"You really think I care about that?" Rebecca scoffed. Then, she turned and smiled at Clementine. "Do you...wanna hold him?"

"Can I?"

"Of course; you're family. Here." Rebecca held out the tiny infant, whom Clementine accepted. Clem smiled down at the baby, who suddenly began to cry. But, knowing what to do after watching Omid and Christa with Genevieve, she rocked him gently and comforted him.

"Shh, shhh, there you go."

"You're a natural," Rebecca complimented.

"Looks like he likes you," Sarita smiled as she and Kenny approached Clementine.

"Like a big sister," Kenny commented. He then turned to look at Rebecca. "Sarita and I can watch him while you get some sleep, if you want," he offered with a shrug.

"When's the last time you slept, Kenny?" Rebecca inquired.

He scoffed, "About two years ago, I'm fine."

"Okay," Rebecca agreed as she leaned back to get some rest. Kenny took the baby from Clem, and he and Sarita went to the other side of the gift shop to gush over him. Everyone was still sleeping except for those two, and that's when Clementine saw Jane out of the corner of her eye. She decided to go talk to her.

"What are you doing?" she questioned.

"Shit," Jane muttered under her breath. "Listen, I'm sorry, but...I have to go."

"Go? Go where?"

"Just...away, okay? I'm not gonna be here to see this group fall apart. And it will happen, like it or not. Everyone's luck runs out." She walked a few steps away, then stopped to pull something out from her pocket. "You take care of yourself. Here."

After hesitating for a moment, Clementine accepted the nail file. "Thanks."

"Versatility is not overrated," Jane said, repeating her words to Lee from earlier. And with that, she walked down the stairs, leaving the group.

Clementine sat near the steps to watch her leave. It wasn't until she heard Lee's voice when she broke out of her thoughts.

"Hey, sweet pea, are you okay?" he asked her. The baby's crying had probably woken him up, too.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered, wondering how he would react to finding out about Jane's departure.

"You sure?" he pried, knowing that something was up.

Clementine's face fell. "Jane left...for good."

"When?" Lee inquired.

"A few minutes ago," Clem answered.

Lee looked surprised for a moment, but then he sighed. "Damn. I guess there's no use stopping her. It was her decision."

"I guess so."

"Goddamn it, Kenny, just lay off!" Luke could be heard practically shouting from the gift shop entrance.

"No," Kenny replied. "You put all of our lives, this baby's life at risk, just so you two could roll around like fuckin' teenagers!"

"Look, I made a mistake, all right?"

"No, it's not all right."

"Alright, both of you, knock it off right now," Lee told them, putting both of his hands up. "All you two do is fight. And what good is that doing?"

"Look, I'm sorry," Luke replied. "But Jane...she make an offer, okay? Look around you. Everything is shit! So excuse me for wanting to enjoy one moment of something else!"

"This baby...he's what matters now," Kenny said.

"Everything all right?" Mike asked as he, Lilly, Carlos, Nick, and Reggie stepped out of the gift shop, having awakened from the arguing.

"What the hell are you arguing about?" Lilly demanded.

"Nothing," Luke said bitterly, "Everything's fine."

Sarita walked out, holding the baby in her arms. "He's not going to be able to sleep with all the yelling."

Kenny ignored Sarita and followed Luke who was trying to walk away. "We're gonna need a good place for the baby, and that ain't here. We need to push on. We head north, get to Wellington," he said, looking off into the distance.

"Not this shit again..." Nick trailed off, shaking his head.

"How do we even know that place exists?" Lilly questioned. "I think we should go back to the cabin. It was safe there! We had food and supplies! There was enough room for everyone..." She listed all the reasons and everyone listened to her. "We have to get moving soon."

Lee interrupted. "Well wherever we're going, Rebecca needs rest first," he said firmly.

"Yeah," Luke said. "A few days at least."

"We've got that baby formula..." Bonnie pointed out.

"We need to wait before we go anywhere," Carlos said. "Rebecca needs at least a few days so she can recuperate."

"A day or two," Rebecca said as Sarita gave her back the baby. "I'll be fine."

"This is a mistake," Kenny grumbled.

"It's been a long day, everybody," Reggie announced. "We should all just go back to sleep."

Since it was still late, everyone agreed. They had a long journey ahead of them, in both directions.


	27. Surprise Ambush

A few days passed by, and it was time for the group to set off again. By now, there was snow everywhere, and no doubt that everyone was freezing. Some of the group, such as Carlos and Nick, didn't even have a jacket on.

No one was in much of a mood to talk, that is, until Rebecca nearly fell over with the baby in her arms. Bonnie and Sarita helped her to walk (Sarita doing the best she could with only one arm).

"Are you okay?" Bonnie asked.

"She's exhausted," Luke said. "We all are."

"I can keep going," Rebecca reassured them.

Her skin was paling, and she looked weak. And even with Carlos there, they couldn't do anything without the proper medical equipment or supplies. He tried his best to make sure she recovered as much as she could before they began their journey away from Parker's Run. Bonnie helped her stand back up, and they continued to walk along the snowy trail.

Luke shook his head. "We should have stayed."

"And what good would that have done?" Kenny inquired. "It wouldn't have helped Rebecca get better. We would have been stuck in there with no food, no supplies, freezing our asses off."

"We're freezing our asses off now," Mike commented.

"We have to keep going," Lee jumped in. "If we want to make it to the town by nightfall, we have to keep going," he insisted. They continued walking, until Rebecca collapsed once more, falling to the ground and nearly dropping the baby. Bonnie, Sarah, and Lilly knelt to her side, checking to see if she was okay.

"Rebecca, let me take the baby," Kenny offered.

"Back off, Kenny! She said she didn't want you to take the baby," Luke scolded. "Don't be weird about it, okay?"

"Kenny, just let Rebecca take care of him," Lee added, trying to calm things down.

"I was just tryin' to help," Kenny replied.

"Hello!" a new voice called, causing everyone to turn around. The next call came in Russian, and it made Lee and Lilly realize what was up.

"Arvo?" Lee inquired.

"Oh, hell no," Lilly said, preparing her weapon. "What did I tell you, Lee? There is no sick sister! He's by himself!"

"Who is this boy?" Carlos turned to Lee and asked with a frown.

"Lilly, Jane, and I met him on the observation deck before everyone else came," Lee answered.

"You know this sonuvabitch?" Kenny questioned. "What's he want?"

Lee shrugged. "I'm not sure...just keep your eyes open."

Arvo approached the large group. "Hello!" he greeted them.

"What's going on?" Kenny asked. "You got people with you? Where are they?"

"You're not out here on your own, are you?" Nick asked. Lee looked around and noticed that nearly everyone had a weapon of some sort pulled out and ready to use if needed. He hoped they didn't come off as hostile to Arvo, especially if the kid meant no harm. And just as Nick said that, a woman with a gun stepped out to stand beside Arvo. Some other men with weapons came out behind the trees as well.

"What the fuck?!" Lilly questioned angrily, readying her rifle.

"Lilly," Carlos warned.

"These are my friends," Arvo said. "We stay hidden from safety."

The woman, presumably his sister, began speaking to him in Russian, and he answered back in the same language. This made the two men laugh.

"Dad, what are they saying?" Sarah asked frantically, clutching Carlos' shirt.

"Shhh. Just be quiet," Carlos whispered back.

"What did your friend say?" Clementine asked, and Lee moved closer to her like a bodyguard.

"I told them that you are the ones who robbed me," Arvo explained. "And that they want you and your friends to put down your guns so we can take your things."

"Whoa, whoa, hold on now!" Luke cried.

"What the hell?" Lilly sneered.

"Nobody get excited," Mike chastised.

"We didn't rob you!" Lee retorted. "We gave you your medicine."

Lilly shook her head. "Jane took his other stuff."

"For fuck's sake!" Kenny called out.

"Jane?" Arvo questioned. "Where is the other woman?"

"She left," Reggie answered.

Arvo shook his head as more Russian language was spoken. "It's a trap, I know it," he said as a matter of fact. By then, everyone had their weapons pulled out, aimed at somebody, and Lee knew that this probably wasn't going to end well. He knew he had to find a way to get everyone to calm down.

"We don't have to do this," he said, calmly. "We can talk about things."

More Russian was spoken.

"Please," It was Sarita who spoke this time. "We have a baby with us."

Just then, Alvin Jr. began to cry. "You have a baby?" Arvo asked incredulously.

He shouted out to his friends frantically in Russian, but it clearly wasn't doing any good. Both groups were shouting out orders to one another as AJ continued to scream. Sarah was in the danger zone of a panic attack, and those who weren't yelling clearly looked confused and somewhat afraid.

The next thing everyone knew, there was a bullet mark between Reggie's eyes, and the man fell to the ground, dead.

"No!" Luke yelled.

That was when the bloodbath began. All you could hear was the sound of gunshots in the air. Carlos practically yanked Sarah over to a safety area behind a demolished wall, and Lee did the same for Clementine. Now, they needed to get Rebecca and the baby to safety.

"Shit, I'm hit, I'm hit!" Mike yelled, clutching his arm.

"Mike, get over here!" Bonnie yelled.

"Clementine!" Lee called out, worried about the little girl. They had only lost Reggie so far, and everyone else had managed to get to cover while few Russians remained. Arvo was busy doing chest compressions on the Russian woman who was long gone by now.

"We have to figure something out," Lee hissed, looking at Nick and Luke whom he was closest to.

"If I can get past this wall, I might be able to get the guy," Luke said.

Nick nodded. "I'll cover you."

"Alright, on my go, okay?" Luke announced. "Go!"

He ran out to try and get one of the men, only to get shot in the leg in the process. This caused him to scream.

"Luke, no!" Bonnie shouted.

The man who shot Luke tried to finish him off, but Lilly took care of that first. She was immediately shot in the lower arm, and let out a yell. But that didn't stop her.

"LILLY!" Sarah yelled from where she was hiding.

Luke returned to the wall where Lee and Clementine were (Sarah, Rebecca, and AJ were at the other wall), grabbing hold of his leg.

"Luke! Are you okay?" Clementine asked almost frantically.

"Yeah...yeah, I'm fine," Luke answered. "He got me in the leg, but...I think it went straight through. AH, shit!"

"I'm sorry..." Nick trailed off, shaking his head.

"It ain't your fault," Luke replied.

Suddenly, Kenny ran and grabbed Arvo, putting the gun to his head. "Either you come out or I put a bullet in this kid's fuckin' head!"

"Kenny!" Lee yelled out. "He's just a kid!"

"I'm ending this!" Kenny screamed. "Come out right fucking now!"

When no one was looking, Arvo's sister suddenly began moving again - she had turned into a walker. She began crawling towards the closest person to her, which was Clementine, who immediately shot her in the head before she could get any closer.

"Natasha! Natasha, NO!" Arvo yelled, crawling over to his deceased sister. He turned and glared at Clementine, tears already visible on his face.

Lee noticed that the other surviving man had his gun aimed at Bonnie, but before he could warn her, the Russian fired the shot. Blood poured out from the back of Bonnie's head, and she fell to the ground.

That was when, for some reason, blood began pouring out of the man's mouth. He moved his head, only to reveal that there was a knife sticking out of the back of his neck. He, too, fell to the ground, and who was seen next shocked Lee and Clementine.

"Miss me?" he asked, adjusting his baby daughter in his arms.

"Omid?!" Lee asked incredulously.

"Holy shit..." Lilly trailed off, staring at the short man.

"You're alive," Carlos stated.

Omid nodded. "Yeah, Genevieve and I made it," he said simply, looking lovingly at the toddler. She looked to be about two years old, resembling Christa the most, her dark eyes shining as she smiled at Lee and Clem. "But anyway, I heard all the shooting, heard Kenny yelling, figured you guys could use my help."

"Where have you been?" Lee asked.

He shrugged. "Here and there...after we got separated, I just assumed you guys were dead."

"We thought you were dead, too," Clementine replied.

"How'd you find these guys?" Omid asked, looking at Lilly, Sarah and Carlos incredulously. "And Kenny...how did you get out of that mess with Ben?"

"Ah, shit, it's a long story..." Kenny trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Alright, does someone wanna tell us who this guy is?" Nick asked with a frown.

"This is Omid, he's the man Clem and I got separated from before we met you," Lee explained. "The baby is his daughter, Genevieve."

"Well, ain't she a doll," Luke said, smiling down at the baby.

"Thanks." Omid smiled back.

"She looks like Christa..." Lilly trailed off.

"I know," Omid answered a bit sadly.

"Is everyone okay?" Carlos asked, knowing that a few in the group had suffered wounds. Luke, Lilly, and Mike had all been shot, and he knew he would have to look at the wounds immediately. "We're going to need some supplies," he added, rubbing the back of his neck. He knew they wouldn't make it very far without them.

"We lost Bonnie and Reggie," Mike replied.

"Is the baby okay?" Sarah inquired.

"He's fine," Rebecca rasped out, still trying to catch her breath.

Kenny clenched his fist and marched over to Arvo, who was looming over his dead sister, and began punching him. "You piece of shit!"

"Hey! Calm down, Kenny!" Mike shouted as he and Luke both went to stand in front of Arvo. "It's over! He ain't a threat to us!"

"How can you say that?!" Kenny yelled back. He pulled out his gun again. "Get out of the way!"

"Whoa, what are you doing?" Nick cried. Sarah quickly took Carlos' hand in hers and squeezed it, her eyes widening in fear.

"Kenny, knock it off!" Lee said, approaching him. "He wasn't the one shooting at us, that guy's dead! Leave the kid alone, man."

"There is house...food. Please, I can take you!" Arvo begged.

"Bullshit," Lilly scoffed.

"No! No! It's true! We have place. Not far, food," he begged and pleaded.

"See, he wants to help," Luke insisted.

"Don't be stupid," Kenny shook his head, aiming his gun. "He's just trying to save his own skin. Why the hell would you help us? Huh?" he continued to interrogate Arvo relentlessly.

"I...I not want to see more people dead," Arvo cried.

"Then close your eyes and I'll make it quick."

"Kenny!" Lee scolded.

"If he's telling the truth, it could save all of us!" Nick said.

"We are running out of food and supplies," Sarita said. "Nothing will matter if all of us starve to death. Please, Kenny, think about it."

Lilly sighed, closing her eyes for a brief moment. "What fucking choice do we have anymore?" She glared at Arvo. "You better be telling us the truth."

"It's worth the risk to check the place out, though," Omid pointed out.

"We have to move on," Carlos added.

"Think about the babies, Kenny," Lee said. "If there are supplies like he says, then we need them. We won't survive for much longer otherwise. We gotta take a chance."

"Unless someone's got a better plan," Lilly muttered.

Kenny reluctantly put down his gun. "We got somethin' to tie this shitbird up?"

"Check Bonnie's backpack," Mike said. "She kept most of the stuff."

"Follow me, I take you," Arvo said.

"Just gimme a reason," Kenny said as he tied Arvo's hands.

"Yeah, man, he gets it," Luke sneered.


	28. Campfire Birthday

Kenny proceeded to tie Arvo up, and what was rest of the group was on their way. It felt weird, taking off without Bonnie and Reggie, but they were long gone by now, and there was nothing the group could do about their losses.

It was silence, until Carlos finally spoke up. "Kenny, you don't have to point the gun at him then whole time," he said.

"Do you remember what we just went through?" Kenny questioned.

"He's not going anywhere, Ken," Lee added.

"Fine," Kenny grumbled, putting his gun down and grabbing Sarita's hand instead.

Lee went over to talk to Omid, and Clementine followed suit. Now that he and Genevieve were back, they wanted to know where he had been this whole time.

"So, what, uh, happened to you?" Lee inquired. "After...you know."

Omid sighed and adjusted Genevieve, who was looking around curiously at all of the new people. "Walkers came out of the woods after you yelled for me to run, and that's when I held onto Genevieve and just...ran. Didn't really know where I was going. All I knew was that I had to keep my daughter safe."

This earned him a sympathetic glance from Carlos, having similar beliefs.

"You've accomplished that, at least," Clementine said with a smile, sending it over to Genevieve.

Omid smiled back just a little. "Yeah, I guess I have. She's safe, and I was damn lucky to find her some winter clothes."

"Good, man, good," Lee praised.

A few minutes of walking later, Luke nearly fell over, and he would have if Nick and Mike hadn't helped him up. And Rebecca clearly looked like she needed to sit down again.

"Wait, wait up! We should stop for a minute," Mike called.

"No, no, I'm fine, okay? I just..." Luke paused to inhale sharply. "I just put a little more weight than I should've."

"Alright, wait there," Kenny ordered Arvo. When the teen boy continued to limp forward, Kenny rushed over and pushed him down. "When I tell you something, you fuckin' listen, you understand?"

"Kenny, come on!" Mike yelled. "There's no need for this!"

"He's getting what he deserves," Kenny spat back, earning a few weird glances from the others.

"He's just a kid, man," Lee shook his head.

"Kenny, he has lost everyone," Sarita attempted to calm him down. "The least we can do is be a little caring," she insisted, grabbing him to calm him down. That seemed to work at the moment, because he walked away to sit down with Sarita following right behind him.

Carlos walked over to take a look at Luke's wounded leg while Sarah followed behind him. "Keep pressure on the wound," he ordered. "Sarah, can you go ask Lilly for some bandages?" he asked, and she nodded and ran off. He was glad he could get her to help out a bit more.

"Are you okay, Lilly?" Sarah asked in concern. After all, Lilly had been shot, too.

"I'm fine, honey. Don't worry about me, okay?" Lilly's arm was in pain, but she managed to speak as nicely as possible. Sarah smiled a bit, and asked her for the bandages. Lilly handed them over, Carlos would be examining her wound next.

"How are you feeling?" Nick asked Luke.

"If I'm bein' honest, I've been better," Luke replied.

"Are you okay?" Clementine asked.

"Yeah, yeah, just...got a lot on my mind, I guess."

"Don't we all," Nick grumbled, still feeling the loss of his uncle which, looking back, had only happened just recently.

"We all have shit on our minds," Omid stated glumly. He set Genevieve down on the snow, and she toddled over to where Sarah, Lilly, and Rebecca were. Perhaps she was fascinated by the other baby that happened to be there.

Seeing Genevieve gave Rebecca hope. Hope that maybe taking care of a child in the zombie apocalypse wasn't so bad, and that it was possible. After all, Genevieve looked to be growing normal, she seemed to be getting all the nutrition she needed, and Omid was doing a fine job at raising her by himself.

Carlos finished bandaging Luke's leg, and decided to let him rest for a bit. He walked over to Lilly, who was attempting to talk to Genevieve. She couldn't say many words yet, only a few small ones and some coos and babbles.

"You mind if I take a look at your arm?" he asked, gesturing the bandages towards her.

She shrugged, and watched as Genevieve looked at AJ curiously.

Meanwhile, Clementine was checking on Lee's eye.

"Hey, sweet pea," Lee greeted.

"Can I change your bandage?" Clementine inquired. "Carlos is busy with Lilly right now."

Lee looked at the cloth and antiseptic in her hands and sighed. "Alright. I think we should get it over with, huh?"

Clementine carefully removed the dirty bandage from Lee's eye and couldn't help but cringe when she saw what Carver had done to him. It was even worse than she thought, but she was just glad that Lee had lived through it.

"That bad, huh?" Lee chuckled weakly.

"It...looks better than before," Clem tried to reassure him.

Lee watched as she poured some antiseptic onto the cloth. "Now the fun part, huh?"

"We've already got two babies, we don't need a third one," Clementine teased.

Lee chuckled again. "We sure as hell don't, Clem."

She cleaned his wound as gently as she could, being careful not to hurt her guardian, but it was to no avail. No matter how careful she was, Lee still hissed in pain at the stinging sensation. But at least his eye was clean now, and it would help it heal.

"There," Clem finished. "All better."

"It feels better, too," Lee said with a small grin.

"Are y'all ready to go?" Nick asked, approaching the two. "Let's head out," he said, before they began walking through the cold once more. Arvo led the way, and they walked and walked and walked until the sun was beginning to set in the sky. It would be dark soon, and they all knew that traveling at night was not the safest plan.

Just as the sun was setting, they came across some electrical buildings.

"Is that it?" Kenny asked.

"It?" Arvo inquired, "It what?"

"Arvo, is this where the supplies are? Where the food is?" Clementine asked slowly.

"No, it's...at the house," Arvo trailed off.

"_What_ house?" Lilly scoffed.

"Is still more walk. Some more hours."

"Goddamn it!" Kenny yelled. "This guy fucked us!"

Mike allowed Luke to sit on a nearby log, and the younger man panted with relief. Omid, Rebecca, and Sarah took a seat on the log as well, the adults holding their babies.

"It's getting dark, Kenny," Sarita said. "Do you think we should stop for the night?"

"We can't rest, we've been walking all day and we're still fuckin' nowhere!"

"Kenny, relax," Lee tried to calm his friend down. "It looks safe enough for tonight. The fence should help with the walkers."

"Can we just have a calm, quiet night?" Carlos questioned. "This arguing is getting us nowhere."

"I don't like it," Sarah added.

"If we're staying, we should make sure it's safe," Lilly added.

"I'll go," Lee volunteered.

"I'll come, too," Nick offered, and Lee nodded, accepting the young man's help. The rest of the group merely waited as the two ventured down there to make sure the place was safe. After all, walkers were the last thing they needed right now. A few moments had passed until, finally, Lee and Nick had returned.

"It's safe," Lee confirmed, and a sigh of relief could be heard from just about everyone. At least they would have a safe place to stay for the night.

Before the group knew it, night had arrived, and a fire had been built. Everyone was seated in a circle around it, trying to keep warm. Arvo, however, had been tied up to one of the poles, and he was seated away from the group all by himself.

After a pause, Luke broke the silence. "Today's my birthday."

Nick's eyes widened slightly. "Shit, are you serious! Happy birthday, man! Can't believe I forgot!"

"Happy birthday, Luke!" Sarah said cheerfully.

"How old are you?" Sarita inquired.

"I'm 27," Luke answered. "Sure as hell feel a lot older, though."

"Don't even start with that shit!" Kenny teased.

"Got out of college five years ago...feels like a million years."

"What did you study?" Lee questioned.

"Art history..." Luke trailed off, then scoffed. "It hasn't helped me much over the years."

"Waste of money," Kenny commented.

"Did get a minor in agriculture, though, keep the old man happy," he continued.

"Oh, shit!" Nick exclaimed. "That reminds me..." he trailed off before pulling out a bottle of liquor. "Found this back at Parker's Run, I was gonna save it for a special occasion, but hell, with it being your birthday, we might as well drink it," he said with a shrug, before giving the bottle to Luke.

"Are you guys sure alcohol is the best thing right now?" Lee questioned.

"Oh, lighten up a little bit," Omid grinned. "I'm sure we could all use a drink right now."

"Amen to that," Rebecca smiled weakly.

"I feel a little guilty takin' the first-"

"Whoa, wait!" Nick interrupted Luke. "You gotta make a toast."

"A toast means we all have something to drink," Mike pointed out.

Luke cleared his throat, and then he raised the wine bottle. "To the loved ones that we've lost along the way, and to the hope that we'll see them again...someday."

"Here, here," Mike called out.

"That was real nice," Sarita commented.

Lilly, who had a stony expression on her face after the toast, stood up. "I'll take first watch," she volunteered. "We can't be too careful."

"Lilly..." Carlos trailed off.

"I'll be fine," the younger woman threw over her shoulder.

"Just don't stay out in the cold too long, alright?" he said back at her, and she merely waved him off.

Omid took a drink of the liquor when it was offered to him, Genevieve sleeping soundly in his lap. "Man, am I glad to be back with a group again. It sucks being by yourself," he ranted.

"We're glad to have you back," Lee smiled.

The group sat around the fire, sharing the drink and talking, having a few laughs along the way, too. Clementine was beginning to grow sleepy, so she laid her head on Lee's lap, listening to her guardian talk. She couldn't help but to feel bad for Arvo, though, as he was out in the cold all by himself. She noticed Sarah had tried to talk to him earlier, but Carlos had yelled at her for it.

"Lee?" Clem questioned, tugging at his shirt.

"Yeah, sweet pea?"

"I think Arvo should come and get warm by the fire," she suggested, looking over to the poor teen who was stuck against the small pole. Lee followed her gaze and sighed if only slightly.

"Are you sure you want to talk to him, Clem?" Lee asked, feeling unsure.

"I'm sure."

"You really shouldn't waste your time on him, Clementine," Kenny cautioned.

"Kenny, he lost his sister today," Sarita told him.

Kenny only glanced at her and sighed. Clementine stood up and slowly made her way over to Arvo, who was still tied up to that pole. He was crying in grief over the loss of his sister, so the little girl took cautious steps.

"Uh, hi, Arvo," Clementine began apprehensively.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Arvo yelled at her.

"I was just..."

"LEAVE...ME...ALONE!"

"Sorry..." Clem mumbled, before listening to Arvo mumble something in Russian. There were tears streaming down his face, and Clementine had to assume he was upset about his sister. "She's in a better place," the little girl tried to comfort as he continued to speak in Russian.

"It's okay." She reached for his hands to untie them.

"Clementine, what the hell are you doing?!" Kenny yelled, causing her to flinch.

"He's cold!" she yelled back. "He needs to be around the fire."

"It's okay, Clem," Lee reassured her, telling her it was okay for her to untie him. Arvo gave a grateful nod as he watched Clementine untie his hands, and he followed her over by the fire and sat down, immediately warming his hands.

Lee then looked to Kenny. "He's not going to try anything, Ken, so just calm down."

"He's just a kid," Rebecca added.

"We should all get some rest," Carlos said before any more tension could rise. He didn't want any more violence around his daughter. He didn't look all that happy about Arvo being untied, but he hadn't objected. "I have a feeling that we have a very long walk tomorrow."

"Yeah, that sounds good," Luke agreed.

"Is Lilly okay?" Sarah inquired, looking over at the area where Lilly had disappeared.

"She's fine, sweetie," Carlos said. "She will come back when she's ready. Just go to sleep."

Sarah obliged, and lay down near her father. Everyone else, with the exception of Lilly, lay down in different areas around the fire, hoping to get some rest for the night.


	29. Two Watery Graves

The next morning, the journey continued, and the group had yet to reach the place Arvo was talking about. Rebecca had taken a turn for the worst overnight, and was now looking weaker than ever. This worried the group.

"You sure you're good?" Nick asked Luke, who was still limping from the bullet wound in his leg.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm good," Luke replied. "If I start to crap out, I'll let you know."

"If you do, let us know," Mike said.

"How much further?" Lilly demanded of Arvo.

"Close. Very close," the young man replied.

"You've been sayin' that every time we've asked," Kenny snarled.

"Please. Come."

"Do you think we're almost there, Dad?" Sarah asked. "My legs are getting tired."

Carlos turned and looked at his daughter. "Almost, sweetie." But he didn't know if they were close or not. Who knew? This Arvo kid could be lying. So they kept walking in a line, Kenny and Arvo in front, and Lee and Clementine at the back, keeping their eyes peeled for any walkers or any other dangers that might have happened to be lurking about.

Suddenly, they came to a stop at a lake that was frozen over, and there was a house on the other side of it.

"Here," Arvo spoke slowly.

"That piece of shit?" Kenny questioned. "It's half built."

"We just need the supplies, Kenny, remember?" Sarita asked.

"She's right," Lee nodded.

"Is warm..." Arvo trailed off. "Fireplace, very warm."

"I'd just like a place to sit if I'm being honest," Luke commented.

"Do we have to cross the lake?" Mike asked. "Is there any other way?"

"The fastest way between two things is a straight line," Kenny told them with a shrug. But Lee knew that not all of them would be able to make it across this frozen lake. The weight would be too much, and it was a very bad idea. "We have to cross it," he continued to speak, walking closer to the edge of the land where the lake began.

"Is okay," Arvo said. "Walk. Ice."

"No shit, ice!" Kenny snarled. "That's the problem."

"We should all go slowly, don't clump together," Lee spoke up.

"Yeah, no need to rush this," Omid agreed. Genevieve was in his arms as usual, looking around with large dark eyes.

Lilly sighed. "We should spread apart. Less weight, the better."

So, the group slowly inched their way onto the frozen lake, Mike having to help Rebecca. Sarah had a frightened look on her face, but she was doing very well. It was about a quarter of the way when Clementine felt a little bit of ice crack beneath her feet.

"It's okay," Luke assured her. "We're fine."

A few moments later, they could hear the growling of walkers behind them. They began to approach the ice, and Lee had the feeling that things were going to get worse before they got better.

"D-Dad!" Sarah squeaked.

"Shit, walkers," Nick muttered.

"There are only a few of them, we should be alright," Mike said as he slowly guided Rebecca along. Baby AJ was sleeping soundly in her arms.

Arvo saw the walkers behind them, and began to speed up his slow limping.

"Hey! Stay with us!" Kenny warned. A few walkers that were clumped together fell through the ice, causing everyone to turn and look.

"That's two less to deal with," Nick commented.

"Just stay spread out and we'll be fine," Mike said.

That's when Arvo took off running as fast as he could towards the house, and Kenny began to run after him and they chased each other.

"Motherfucker..." he grumbled. "Get back here, you piece of shit!" he screamed.

"Kenny!" Lee called out, trying to stop the man.

"He's gonna kill him," Mike said, running after the two with baby AJ in his arms, leaving Rebecca standing alone and helpless.

Nick immediately jogged to her as quickly as possible without breaking any more ice and put his good arm around her. He spoke some comforting words as she worriedly looked on, only looking slightly relieved as Mike made it with the baby.

"Kenny, what the hell, man?" Lee grumbled. "What good is this gonna do?"

Carlos, Sarah, Omid, and Genevieve were the next to make it across the river. Clementine, Lilly, and Sarita heard a louder cracking noise, and all three turned to see Luke standing in the middle of the lake, the ice cracking all around him.

Sarita slowly began to inch her way over to him, but Luke stopped her.

"Don't come over here!" he yelled. "It's too thin for both of us!"

"Luke!" Nick had called out.

"I can make it, I'm fine..." he said, mostly to himself.

"Are you sure?" Sarita inquired.

"Yeah," he nodded.

"There are walkers, please, let me help you," Sarita said again, looking around.

Luke shook his head, "No. the ice is way too thin for both of us...I just gotta be careful." He managed to stand up, but fell over once more when the ice broke underneath him. That's when Sarita sprinted towards him, trying to help.

"Sarita, no!" Kenny screamed.

"Stop!" Luke called out. "I'm fine..."

"You need help!" Nick yelled in return.

"Just give me a minute," Luke croaked.

Lilly took out her gun and began shooting some of the walkers that were beginning to approach Luke and Sarita, who continued to make her way over to him in hopes of helping. After a moment, Nick did, too, reaching his hand out for his friend.

"No, please, g-go back!" Luke whimpered, his eyes meeting Nick's.

While Sarita and Nick were trying to help Luke, Clementine began to help Lilly cover all of them. Unfortunately, it was no good for Luke and Sarita, as the two of them immediately fell through the ice when Sarita got close enough. Nick hadn't fallen because he was still far away.

"LUKE! NO!" Nick screamed.

"SARITA!" Kenny added, trying to run back to the middle of the ice. Lee and Mike grabbed him, however, both of them knowing that no good outcome would result from this.

And just like that, they had lost two more members of their group. Luke and Sarita were long gone, and they managed to get across what remained of the lake and into to house. Kenny wouldn't speak anymore, so it was up to Lee to follow behind Arvo to make sure he didn't escape. Hell, a sort of silence took over the whole group because of the two members they had just lost.

"How the fuck did that happen?" Lilly blurted out, breaking the silence.

Sarah was sobbing gently, both Sarita and Luke were her friends.

"Jesus Christ..." Rebecca mumbled.

"I'll, um...I'll look for something to start a fire..." Nick said, before walking off around the house.

"They're just gone..." Mike trailed off.

"We should have found a way around," Lee said. "We probably could have."

No one was prepared to see Kenny punch Arvo hard in the face, his face full of rage. His punch knocked the teen to the ground with blood splattering from his nose.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" the bearded man screamed. "THIS IS YOUR FUCKIN' FAULT!"

"Kenny! Don't, man!" Mike yelled.

"Don't WHAT?"

"He's just a kid, man!"

"Yeah? Well, this kid got my girl KILLED!" Kenny hollered. "He's the reason for all of the shit that's happened the past couple days!"

"KENNY!" Lee barked. "Man, look, we're all sorry about Sarita. Her and Luke both. But there's no reason to go and put everything on this kid. Use your head, man!"

Clementine helped Nick with the fire by using the nail file that Jane had given her, and the older man took it without a word. No doubt he was in grief over his friend.

Carlos gently sat Sarah down on the bench next to where AJ was sleeping in a small box, rubbing her back and trying to comfort her. With everything that was going on around the girl, it wasn't helping very much.

"He wasn't lying about the supplies," Lilly said, emerging from one of the many rooms in the house with a bag. It was full of food, water, stuff that they all needed.

"That's good," Lee nodded, he then turned to Clem. "You hungry, sweet pea?" She nodded in return. "Why don't you go see if Rebecca wants to eat, too?" he suggested, and Clementine agreed and walked over to where Rebecca was sitting with baby AJ in her fragile arms.

"Are you hungry, Rebecca?" Clementine asked. "We found some food."

A small smile graced Rebecca's face. "I could eat, yeah."

"Okay." Clem nodded, and went to grab a few cans of the food for herself and for Rebecca. The group rested by the fire then, eating and keeping the silence between them. Carlos was examining Arvo's face to make sure Kenny hadn't hurt him too badly. They were all tired and desperately needed rest.

Rebecca, though, didn't look so good. She was growing substantially weaker, and it was becoming pretty obvious. There wasn't much else that Carlos could do for her without medical supplies. The group was worried about how much time she had left.

These times reminded Lee of when the group was in Savannah, when everyone seemed to be leaving or dropping like flies. That was certainly what was happening today.

It was about an hour later. Both Clementine and Sarah had fallen asleep, even though it wasn't quite evening yet, and everyone else was just sitting around quietly, the only one walking around being Genevieve. Kenny had found a truck in the back, and was trying to get it started. Lee decided that he should check on Rebecca, who was still cradling AJ.

"How are you feeling?" he asked sympathetically, kneeling down in front of her.

Rebecca coughed. "I've had better days...I'm not feeling great," she admitted.

"Need me to get Carlos?" Lee inquired, glancing over at the Hispanic man, who was sitting on the bench with Sarah asleep with her head in his lap.

"No, no, I'll be okay."

But she was far from okay.

Her body was weakening, and everyone in the group knew it was only a matter of time before they'd be saying good-bye to Rebecca as well.

"Can I ask you something, Lee?" she had asked once they were alone, or at least out of earshot from everyone else in the group.

"Of course," Lee answered.

"Take care of AJ for me, alright?" Bec had managed to get out. "Just make sure he's safe and teach him all the things you taught Clem."

Lee nodded solemnly. "Okay, I will."

"Thank you." She smiled slightly, before turning her attention back to AJ, who was sleeping soundly in her arms.

"Hey." Kenny approached the two of them. His face was full of grief after having just lost Sarita, and Lee knew that he had to be feeling like shit. "Hell of a day." Kenny looked to Rebecca with a hint of sadness for a moment, then turned to Lee. "If you're feelin' up to it, I could use some help with the truck out back. We gotta get movin'."

Lee nodded. "Yeah, alright."

Kenny turned around and walked back outside, and Lee turned to Rebecca again. "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

Rebecca coughed twice, but assured him that she would be fine for now. "Carlos is here if I need anything."

"Alright." Lee looked over at Clementine, who was still asleep in front of the fire, and followed Kenny outside. Lilly was out there, too, standing against the wall with her arms crossed. There seemed to be a lot on her mind.

"What, uh, what did Rebecca have to say?" Kenny asked as they walked beside each other.

"She knows she's dying," Lee replied bluntly. "And she asked me to make sure nothing happened to AJ."

Kenny shook his head and sighed. "I just can't believe everything is falling apart like this...we had a plan, Lee, what the hell happened?" he continued to ramble as they stopped at the truck. "Let's see if we can get this thing moving," he said as he gave Lee the keys to the vehicle. Lee then climbed in while Kenny popped the hood, looking around at the engine and whatnot.

Lee couldn't help but to smile a bit as he watched Kenny. "You know what you're doing?" he questioned.

Kenny let out a bitter chuckle. "My dad used to fix up lotsa wrecks back in the day. He was a mean son of a bitch, but he taught me respect," he replied. "Go ahead and give it a turn, see if she starts." Lee obliged and turned the key, yet nothing happened. Kenny shook his head. "We're close," he said.

"Maybe with a little luck, we should get this truck fixed," Lee answered.

"Wellington's gotta be out there, Lee," Kenny said. "Those rumors can't all be bunk. Didn't y'all mention that you were headin' there with Omid?"

"Yeah. We had a map, but...we lost it during a storm."

"Ah, hell." Kenny let out a grumble, and worked a little more on the truck. "Alright, turn it again." Lee did so, but it still wasn't working. "Did you turn it?"

"Yes!" Lee responded.

"Goddamn it!" Kenny kicked the truck in both anger and frustration. Before Lee could say anything, he could see Carlos approaching them from his peripheral vision. The Hispanic man looked pretty unhappy, and Lee and Kenny knew exactly what it was.

"Rebecca?" Lee asked sadly.

Carlos nodded. "Her time is nearly up."


	30. Burial and Murder

"What should we do?" Lee asked as he looked over at Carlos and Kenny.

"She told me she doesn't want to turn," Carlos revealed. "So somebody will have to...you know..." he trailed off. He had tried everything in his power to keep her alive, but it was all to no avail. The didn't have the medical supplies for somebody going through labor and childbirth. Hell, Carlos was surprised that Rebecca had even made it this long without the proper care.

Lee nodded. "I understand."

"We better go, then," Kenny commented, and the three of them made their way into the house, Lilly giving Carlos a sympathetic look before they disappeared indoors. When they arrived inside, Rebecca was lying by the fire. She looked frail and weak, barely able to keep her eyes open.

"We're all here for you, Bec," Nick encouraged as he held her hand, waiting for her to pass on.

Rebecca squeezed his hand weakly, coughing rather hard. She turned her head to the little box where AJ was sleeping.

"Please..." Her voice was hoarse, looking longingly at her child. "Let me see my baby. Let me see Alvin Junior. Before I go?"

"Of course," Lee replied with a small nod. He walked over to the box and gently picked up AJ, placing him in his mother's arms.

From the other end of the room, Mike, Omid, Clementine, and Sarah watched on with sadness in their eyes. The two girls were holding the other's hands tightly, silently comforting each other.

"We'll take good care of him, raise him right," Kenny tried to comfort Rebecca.

Rebecca gave another harsh cough. "Thank you."

With a final breath, she was gone, and Lee waited a moment before he pulled out his pistol and shot her in the head so she wouldn't turn.

"She's with Alvin now..." he trailed off, putting his gun back into his pants.

Mike approached with some shovels in hand. "Found these in the other room, thought they might be useful."

"Good thinking," Lee replied, grabbing one of the shovels. "Help me out, Kenny?" he asked, and the older man merely nodded as he too grabbed a shovel. The ground would be a little hard to dig up since snow had fallen, but hopefully they'd be able to manage and give Rebecca the proper burial she deserved.

"She gone?" Lilly inquired as she saw Lee, Kenny, and Mike walking outside with the shovels.

Mike nodded, and Lilly sighed before walking back into the house.

Both of the babies had been startled awake due to the gunshot and were crying, which, to Lilly, was a bit irritating, but it was inevitable. Omid especially looked saddened, because no doubt he was thinking about Christa. She had made it through childbirth, but had still died soon after the birth of Genevieve.

The babies were calmed down rather quickly, though, and it wasn't long before Mike came back in to retrieve Rebecca's body. He picked her up and carried her outside bridal-style so that she could be buried. Omid watched them go for a second, before picking up Genevieve and bringing her over to the bench where Lilly, Sarah, and Clementine were now sitting.

"Hey, uh, will you guys watch her for a few?" he asked a little awkwardly, placing the toddler into Clementine's arms.

"Sure," Clem nodded.

"Thanks." Omid turned and walked out of the building, leaving only the woman, the girls, and the babies inside.

Sarah, who now had AJ in her arms, looked forlornly at Rebecca's dying spot. "She was really nice," she spoke. "And AJ...he doesn't have a mom anymore. It's really sad."

Lilly looked down at the floor, more than ever not wanting to think about dead parents. "...yeah."

"It is," Clementine added.

"I guess we're kind of all his mom now..." Sarah trailed off, looking down at AJ once more.

Carlos returned back inside and walked over to his daughter. "You okay, sweetie?" he inquired, kneeling down where she was sitting.

She nodded. "It's just sad."

"I know, honey, but Rebecca's in a better place, alright? With Alvin, and Luke, Sarita, Katjaa, Duck, everyone," he trailed off, and she nodded in understanding, and turned her attention back to AJ.

Carlos then looked over at Lilly. "You alright?" he asked, knowing that she wasn't looking too good.

"Fine," she sighed. "Just memories, you know?"

"Yeah."

After Rebecca had been buried, Kenny went back to work on the truck, and he swore he'd have it running by nightfall. The rest of the group stayed inside and stayed warm by the fire since there was nothing else to be done. Sarah played with Genevieve while Omid got some rest, and Clementine held AJ, keeping him warm and fed.

Lee sat beside Clementine on the bench seat, thinking about the day's events. They had lost three of their people mere hours of one another. From his peripheral vision, he could see the tree where they had buried Rebecca. Covering her up had reminded him a bit too much of Larry's death two years ago, and he was suddenly glad that Lilly had stayed inside with the girls. She most certainly didn't need to see another grave.

The group could suddenly hear the truck outside roar to life, meaning that Kenny had been able to fix it. The sound awoke Omid, and Mike ran outside. The others followed, while the babies and Arvo remained in the house.

"It works?" Lee asked, smiling.

"What'd I tell ya?" Kenny replied.

"So what's the plan?" Nick inquired.

"How much food do we have?" Omid added.

"At least a week," Mike answered.

"And for the babies?" Clementine asked.

"Not much," Carlos replied.

"We've got to find somewhere safe," Omid insisted. "For the kids."

"Yeah," Mike agreed, "Someplace warm."

"We should head back south," Lilly suggested. "We'll fucking freeze to death out here."

"Wait a second," Nick interrupted.

"We should go back to Howe's," Lilly continued.

"No fucking way," Kenny shook his head. "We already talked about this!"

"We did?" Carlos inquired.

"We're going to find Wellington, ain't that right, Lee?" Kenny looked over at his friend waiting for him to take his side once more like old times. However, when he hesitated to answer, Kenny grew angry. "Right, Lee?" he pestered, wanting approval.

"We need to think about what's best for the group, for the kids. A hasty decision like this isn't right," Lee finally answered.

"The cabin..." Sarah trailed off. "Dad, we were safe at the cabin. Can't we go back there?" She looked up at Carlos.

"Alright, alright, look," Omid spoke up, trying to calm things down before they got ugly. "Can't we just sleep on it? Maybe tomorrow we'll think of something. Look, I just want to get Genevieve somewhere safe."

"Damn it, we don't have time to sleep on it!" Kenny argued.

"Says you," Lilly spat.

"Look, I don't give two shits what you people think," Kenny said, turning to glare at her. Just like old times. "I got this truck workin', so I say where we go, which is fuckin' north. It's the best chance we got of helping the babies."

"What about Arvo?" Sarah asked, turning back to the house. Carlos quickly hushed her.

"He ain't coming with us!" Kenny yelled a reply, causing the teen girl to flinch.

"We can't just leave him, Ken," Lee replied.

"He's just a kid," Nick added.

"A kid who almost got all of us fucking killed!" Kenny yelled once more. "I don't give a goddamn where he goes. He's done!"

"He could die!" Mike snarled.

"Better him than another one of us," Kenny retorted, crossing his arms.

"Kenny!" Carlos chided.

"We should ask if he wants to come," Clementine suggested.

"He knows the area, he can help us," Mike gestured to Kenny, almost pleading to bring the poor teenager along. Hell, he had already been through so much, he didn't deserve all the havoc Kenny was trying to cause him.

"Yeah, some help he's been," Kenny snarled. "He got Sarita and Luke killed!"

"I'm not saying he helped the situation, but maybe if you'd eased up on him before, he wouldn't have run away in the first placed," Mike chastised. "Ever think about that, Kenny?"

"Well, either way, I'm not going anywhere in the middle of the night," Lilly spoke up. "It's too dangerous."

"Yeah, there could be a herd out there," Nick agreed.

"You want that child's blood on your hands, Nick?" Kenny scoffed. "Jesus Christ. You remember the last time we had a working car and sat around on our asses, Lee?"

"You know what? Fuck this, I'm going inside," Lilly said, turning into the opposite direction. Sarah, not wanting to hear this anymore, either, followed her. Most of the group walked away until only Mike, Nick, and Lee remained.

"Goddamn it!" Kenny shouted, going into the truck.

Nick shook his head. "Think you oughta talk some sense into him, Lee?"

"It might be best," Mike added. "For his sake."

"I'm on it," Lee nodded, and walked around to the passenger side of the truck to get inside.

"That stupid fucking..." he heard Kenny muttering to himself. "Get the fuck out of here!" he yelled when Lee opened the door.

"Whoa, hey, it's just me," Lee defended.

"Lee, shit, sorry..." Kenny trailed off, looking over at Lee as he climbed inside the truck. "Just give me a second, I need to calm down...can you fucking believe this?" he questioned with an angry sigh. "I get the damn thing working and they act like I shit in their cereal!" he exclaimed.

"Look, Kenny, the group is big, we have to think about what's best for everyone, not just you or the kids," Lee tried to reason. "And we don't know how far we are from Wellington," he added with a small shrug.

"That didn't stop you from looking before," Kenny retorted. "What's any different now?"

"Lilly had a good plan," Lee pointed out.

"Yeah? Well, fuck what she thinks," Kenny said. "There's gotta be folks doing better than us, Lee. And first thing tomorrow, we're gonna show her how wrong she is."

"We'll just see, Ken. But if Wellington really isn't out there, then we have to think of a Plan B."

"This is the plan. It has to be out there. It's gotta be."

Kenny got out of the truck and began making his way back towards the house. Lee sighed, knowing that there had been an attempt. He, too, got out of the truck, wanting to check on Clementine and the other kids before heading to sleep for the night.

A couple hours later, Lee was awoken by the sound of something banging against the house. He slowly sat up and looked around, only to find nothing. He walked out of the room quietly to avoid waking anyone up, and headed outside. It turned out that there was only a rope banging against the house, and what he saw next shocked him.

Mike and a freed Arvo were leaning into the truck, whispering to one another. They had all of the supplies in their hands, and it looked like they were planning to leave in the truck.

"What the fuck do you two think you're doing?" Lee hissed at them. It was a good thing that he had kept his gun at hand.

"We're just leaving," Mike answered quietly as Arvo had his gun pointed directly at Lee. "Just keep it down please? Nobody has to know."

"That's all we have," Lee managed to get out as he kept his gun steady. "You're not going anywhere."

"Listen," Mike stopped him. "We've got to get away from Kenny...it's too much."

"I know he can be a little unstable, but fuck, Mike, this is low!" Lee hissed, being completely blindsided by this sudden betrayal. Mike had been and was vital to the group.

Mike looked almost apologetic, but when Arvo pointed his rifle away, Lee turned around.

"Drop the bags," Lilly ordered dangerously, pointing her own rifle at the two men. "Don't you dare think you can get away with this for even a second."

"Shit," Mike muttered. He had no choice but to oblige, gently setting down the bag he was holding. "Guys, you don't have to do this. You can just let us leave, quietly. Nobody has to know."

"I don't think so," Lilly spat.

"You don't have to do this," Lee warned, still holding up his gun.

"I swear to fucking God, if you don't put the gun down..." Lilly trailed off as she kept hers aimed at Arvo. He looked scared, there was no doubt about that, but he wouldn't back down. He continued to walk slowly towards Lilly with his gun aimed and ready. "I'll fucking shoot!" she screamed as Lee continued to aim at Mike. Arvo was almost to her, and that's when she fired her gun.

"Lilly!" Lee called out as he looked over and saw Arvo laying on the ground, blood seeping out of him.

Her eyes were wide with terror. "I didn't...I didn't...I didn't...?" She dropped her gun on the ground, mumbling incoherently.

"Fuck!" Mike yelled before turning around and taking off running.


	31. Close Calls

Nick, Kenny, Omid, and Carlos came running out of the house. Clementine and Sarah could be seen watching from the window. Needless to say, the four men looked shocked upon seeing Arvo's dead body.

"Jesus Christ..." Nick trailed off.

"The hell happened?" Kenny questioned, looking from Lee to Lilly.

"Arvo and Mike...they were trying to steal from us," Lee explained. He glanced over at Lilly. "Arvo wanted to shoot Lilly, but she...got to him first."

"It wasn't my intention to actually pull the trigger!" Lilly screeched, and placed her hands to her head. "Shit..."

Kenny looked ahead, and he could see Mike's silhouette far away in the distance. His face contorted into anger, now having realized what was going on.

"HEY!" he screeched. "Come back here, you son of a bitch!" He tried to run off after him, but Lee and Nick got a hold of him before he could even pass the truck.

"Ken, it's no use," Lee chided. "He's gone."

"He took all our fucking supplies!" Kenny yelled. "The baby's food!" He paced back and forth, balling his hands into fists, and he muttered incoherently under his breath in anger.

"We'll figure something out, right?" Omid tried to stay optimistic. "The truck works, we'll take it and get the hell out of here."

Carlos walked over to Lilly and placed an arm around her for comfort. "You did the right thing, Lilly, come on, let's get you inside." He said, and she followed him without reply as he walked her back into the house where Clementine, Sarah, Genevieve, and AJ were. It had begun to snow again, the temperatures dropping noticeably.

"Let's just be glad that no one's hurt," Lee said.

"We'll be dead in a few days without food!" Kenny hissed.

"Wait, wait, what about that town?" Nick spoke up. "The one we were all talkin' about on the deck? We'll get there faster in the truck. There's gotta be food there somewhere. Food and supplies, and gas for the truck, even. It was our original plan."

Lee considered it, and nodded. "You're right. we should all get some sleep. In the morning, we'll head back to the town."

He and Nick looked back at Kenny, who was staring at the ground.

"Fine," the bearded man finally said. "_Then_ we head to Wellington."

"How the hell can you be so sure that-" Nick began, but Lee held up a hand to stop him. He didn't want to hear any more arguing, and the kids for sure didn't need to hear it, either.

"Let's go inside," Lee finished the conversation. He and Nick did so, and Kenny kicked Arvo's corpse before following.

Inside, Clementine, Sarah, and AJ were in the other part of the house that faced the front, Omid was on the half-finished stairs rocking Genevieve back to sleep, and Carlos and Lilly were in front of the fire.

"I can't believe I killed him..." Lilly trailed off in a whisper, shaking her head.

Carlos sighed. "What else were you supposed to do?" he questioned. "If you hadn't pulled the trigger, he could have killed you or Lee, and gotten away with the truck," he pointed out.

"I know...but he was just a kid, Carlos," she managed to get out.

"Just try and get some sleep," Carlos persuaded. "You'll feel better when we wake up and get out of here," he added, and she nodded, taking his advice and going into one of the many rooms to get some much needed rest. Carlos joined Sarah, who was also trying to go back to sleep.

However, when she heard her father coming into the room, she spoke. "What happened, Dad?"

Carlos sat down and pulled his daughter close to him. "Mike and Arvo were bad people, sweetie. They tried to take our things from us. But you don't need to worry about them anymore."

There was a long pause, and then Sarah said, "...Lilly killed Arvo, didn't she? He's dead. A-And Mike...Clem and I saw him run away with the bag."

She looked ashamed then, as if she were going to be in trouble just by witnessing the events that had occurred just mere minutes ago. Carlos sighed, looking away from her for just a few moments. What else was he going to tell her? She had seen almost everything.

"She didn't mean to, Sarah, but that boy would have killed her if she hadn't. Do you understand?" Carlos asked.

Sarah nodded slowly, and moved closer to her father for warmth. "I'm glad Lilly isn't dead."

"Me too, sweetie," Carlos said, reaching out to brush her dark hair from her face. "It's time to go to sleep now, okay? We will be leaving in the morning."

When morning came, there was another fresh layer of snow on the ground. Lee was the first to wake up, and he was glad that Clementine was still asleep. He knew that she saw what happened, and he knew she was fond of Arvo as well. If she had any questions, he knew he would have to give her the truth.

AJ began to stir, and Lee didn't want him to wake up the others, so he picked him up out of the makeshift bed and held him close, shushing him so he wouldn't cry. He knew he was probably hungry, but they had no food. So the sooner the others were up, the sooner they'd be able to take the truck over to the town to search for some food.

Nick woke next, still angry that Mike had betrayed them. He had known Mike for a long time, and he just couldn't believe that the man was capable of doing something so bad.

The young man sat on the bench across from the one where Lee was holding AJ, staring down at the ground with a bitter expression.

"You okay?" Lee asked softly.

"No," Nick answered, not even bothering to look up. "We lost three fuckin' people yesterday, Lee. I knew Luke for 20 years, and he's just...gone. And then Mike betrays us? This shit world ain't gonna get better. It seems like everywhere we go, someone just dies."

"We'll make it, Nick," Lee tried to assure the younger man. "You can't keep thinking like that, man."

Nick muttered something under his breath, and took off his hat to run his fingers through his hair.

Within the hour, the rest of the group had woken up, and Kenny was testing the truck one more time after dragging Arvo's corpse away. Luckily, it still worked, and they were even luckier that Mike and Arvo hadn't been able to speed off in it.

"Everybody ready?" Lee inquired to everyone. "I think the inside might be a little crowded, so some of us might need to ride in the back."

"Kids inside, it's too cold for them to be out in the open," Nick pointed out.

"You're right," Lee nodded, so Sarah, Clementine, AJ, and Genevieve were all smushed into the cab of the truck with Kenny in the driver's seat. Lee, Lilly, Omid, Nick, and Carlos rode in the back. It wouldn't be too hard on them, though, because the town was only a little ways away from the house they were at currently.

"Keep your eyes open," Lilly warned as she readied her gun. "We don't know what's over here."

It continued to snow as Kenny drove to the small town. By the way it was coming down, there would be another foot of it by nightfall, and all this snow was not good for their traveling.

Sarah turned to Clementine. "Do you know where we're going, Clem?" she asked in a whisper, careful not to upset Kenny.

Clementine shrugged as she held AJ in her arms. "Somewhere with supplies, I think," she answered.

"Is it safe there?" Sarah continued to ask.

"Safe enough," Clem replied.

It was a mostly silent drive to the town, no one being in much of a mood to make conversation. Genevieve had begun to get fussy when they were nearly there, and Sarah tried to calm her as best as possible, but it wasn't easy when there was no food, and when a nervous teenager was the one holding her.

Kenny stopped the truck in a parallel parking lot between two sets of buildings.

"Up and out, girls," he said to Clementine and Sarah, shutting the engine off.

When everyone was out of the truck, they realized just how quiet the town seemed, with no walkers or people in the vicinity. This was a good sign, but there was always the possibility of something trying to sneak up on them.

Lee walked beside Clementine hesitantly as she held AJ. After all, he didn't want anything to happen to her, so he kept his eyes alert and his gun ready in case any sign of danger. It was an eerie feeling as the rather large group walked through the quiet town.

"We should split up," Lilly suggested in the midst of the silence. "We can cover more ground that way, and search for more supplies," she added.

"She's right," Carlos commented.

Lee nodded. "Alright then, let's split up, we'll meet back at the truck when we're all finished."

So Lee, Clem, and AJ were in a group, then Lilly, Carlos, and Sarah, and after them it was Kenny, Nick, and Omid. The three groups all went their separate ways into the town, searching for anything that could be considered useful in their predicament.

The first thing Lee noticed was a drugstore, which no doubt reminded him of the one his family owned. He looked through the glass door, but didn't see anything.

"It looks to be clear," he noted. He turned to Clementine. "Come on, sweet pea."

So they entered, and the place was eerily quiet. That was a good sign. Lee kept his gun in one hand, while Clementine had hers tucked away in her back pocket. So far, there were only two energy bars and a few bottles of water, but it was better than nothing.

Soon, Clem noticed a backpack in the corner by the restroom door, and zipped it open curiously. What she saw surprised her: the top part was filled to the brim with cans of food, and the bottom was filled with three full prescription bottles.

"Lee, look!" she called.

He looked to where she was standing with AJ, and walked over to her. His eyes widened when he saw all the food and medicine in the bag. Someone must have collected them while they were staying here.

"Good find, Clem, we could use all this stuff," he praised her as he picked up the bag to carry it. "Let's make sure we haven't over looked anything else," he said, and Clem nodded and continued searching.

Meanwhile, Sarah, Lilly, and Carlos had managed to find a few abandoned houses along a small road.

Sarah turned around to the picket fence to see a few walkers feasting on a dead body, and a feeling of total disgust washed over her. It almost reminded her of when Jane willingly cut some of them open the night they escaped Howe's. She didn't like to think about that night.

"I don't think we should go that way," she pointed out. "It's too dangerous."

Lilly turned in her direction and noticed the walkers, too. "God...it's sick."

"Let's try this house first," Carlos spoke up, leading the way. He put his ear to the front door and couldn't hear anything from the other side. Once inside, the three of them noticed how dim it was in here, and they could smell the putrid odor of walkers.

"We should check the rooms before we look for anything," Lilly announced. "If any of them are in here, they'll try to sneak up."

Carlos agreed and readied his gun as he prepared to enter one of the rooms.

"Sarah, stay here, keep a look out," he warned, and she nodded, understanding her father's warning, too. She had a gun as well, but she hoped that she wouldn't have to use it. There was a tiny part of her that was still afraid.

Lilly made her way into one of the other rooms, while Carlos opened the door to the first bedroom. He took careful steps, since it was so dark in the room. He didn't find anything too useful, except for a few blankets. Those would prove useful for AJ and Genevieve, after all, the winter was only going to get worse.

Lilly was the one to find out where the bad odor was coming from. She prepared herself and practically threw the bathroom door open, pointing her gun. Again, it was quiet, but what she saw in the tub made her nearly gag with disgust.

The blood of a dead body was splattered all over the tiled walls, while the body itself was sprawled out in the tub, gun still clutched to its right hand.

"Jesus Christ," Lilly muttered. Slowly, she reached into the tub and pried the gun from the body, all the while feeling disgusted. Surprisingly, there were three bullets still inside. Finding an extra weapon would be good for the group, and the ammo was a plus.

Sarah wandered throughout the living room of the house, waiting for her father or Lilly to return. However, she perked up when she noticed a closet in the back of the room. She walked over to it, gun ready just in case, and prepared to open it. Who knew what supplies or food could be inside. So, on the count of three, she flung the door open, but screamed when she saw what was inside.

It was a walker, stuck to the wall with a few knives and other miscellaneous items, but it was still very much alive, and Sarah backed away quickly as it reached for her.

Carlos ran out of the bedroom, hearing his daughter's screams. "Sarah?!" he questioned, but quickly calmed when he saw that she was okay.

He jogged over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Are you alright? What happened?"

Sarah slowly turned her head to the closet, where the walker inside was now growling audibly. "W-Walker."

Carlos was a bit surprised at the state of the walker, but after a quick inspection around it, he saw that there was nothing inside and closed the door. He didn't want to think of what could have happened had the walker not been stuck.

"Just stay away from the closet, honey," he told her. "It won't hurt you, okay?"

Sarah nodded, and Lilly immediately emerged from the hallway, wanting to know what had happened.

"What's going on?"

"There's a walker," Carlos said, glancing at the now closed door, "but it was stuck to the wall. Sarah is fine."

Lilly nodded, giving Sarah a look over. "Did you guys find anything good?" she asked.

"Just a few blankets," Carlos answered. "Nothing much."

"I found a gun," Lilly replied. "Let's get out of here."

Meanwhile, Omid, Kenny, and Nick walked along the outskirts of the small town.

"We're wastin' our fucking time doing this bullshit..." Kenny muttered under his breath as he walked along the path with the other two men. Genevieve fussed in Omid's arms, no doubt from hunger.

Nick scoffed. "Look, I'm not gonna listen to your bitchin' this whole time."

"Yeah? Well, we could've been on the road to Wellington hours ago, boy," Kenny taunted.

"I ain't a boy," Nick spat.

"Guys," Omid spoke up, trying to calm the situation over Genevieve's crying. "This isn't doing any good. We came to the town for a good reason. Without supplies, we're all gonna die. We can get to Wellington when we're done here."

Nick rolled his eyes. "That place is a fuckin' sham. It ain't real."

"I was going there, with Lee and Clementine," Omid told him. "But we lost the map awhile back."

"You see that, Vanilla Ice?" Kenny jabbed Nick in the shoulder with a finger. "Omid knows what he's talking about."

Before Nick could sneer back a reply, Omid noticed a large building and called out, "Holy shit! Guys, look at the size of this store. It's gotta have stuff in here. Food for Genevieve. Everything!"

The three of them, plus Genevieve, made their way inside the store, eager to find some supplies. Nick kept his gun out, though, hesitant to look around without making sure the place was cleared out first. After all, a store this big definitely couldn't be empty. Their footsteps echoed as they walked and looked through the empty shelves.

"There ain't nothing here," Kenny spoke bluntly. "We might as well get back to the truck."

"Will you shut the fuck up, Kenny?" Nick hissed as he turned to look back at the older man.

"We haven't tried the back," Omid told them, trying to prevent even more arguing in front of the baby. He quickly walked away from the other two men, even though it was very dim. Walkers could sneak up anywhere.

"It's too damn dark," Kenny continued as Nick walked away from him. "How the hell are we supposed to see, huh?"

"Maybe with this?" Nick shot back. He held up an unused pack of batteries and a cracked flashlight. He placed the batteries in the flashlight and shined it in Kenny's face, causing the older man to squint and turn away.

"Goddamn it, watch where you shine that!"

"At least we have light," Omid pointed out. "Come on, I want to find some baby food."

He continued to the back with Genevieve in his arms, remaining hopeful. There had to be some baby food back there; there just had to be. Kenny and Nick followed behind, Nick shining the light so Omid could see.

"Holy shit..." Omid trailed off as he opened one of the few boxes in the back room. There were cans and cans of food, enough to last them through the winter.

"We have to take this stuff," Nick added, and then looked around at the other boxes. "There's probably more, too." He turned around, shining the light once more, but jumped when a walker appeared in front of him.

"Fuck!" he cursed, quickly reaching for his gun.

He pulled the trigger twice, but the dreaded realization that he was out of luck came a few seconds too late when the walker managed to get on top of him. It took all his might to try and prevent it from tearing into his neck.

"Help me!" Nick yelled out.

Kenny was the one to get out a sharp knife from his pocket and thrust it right through the walker's head just as it was leaning down to take a bite out of Nick. The commotion caused Genevieve to begin wailing.

Nick pushed the walker off of him and rose to his feet, checking himself over.

"Shit, are you okay?" Omid asked. "You're not bit, are you?"

He shook his head. "I don't think so...but shit, that was close.."

Omid nodded. "Let's get the hell out of here and tell the others about the food."


	32. Attacked Again

Kenny carried a box, and so did Nick as they walked back to the truck with Omid trailing behind with Genevieve in tow. Of course, they'd come back for the other boxes when they regrouped with the others, but for now, they wanted to grab what they could in case somehow, they wouldn't be able to go back for the rest. It was a lucky break, finding all those supplies, especially after everything their group had been through.

They trudged through the snow, until the truck came into view. It seemed as though Lee and Clementine were already there waiting with a few supplies of their own. Clementine gave a small wave, and Omid waved back as they got closer.

"Find anything?" she asked, looking with careful eyes.

Kenny sat down the box he was carrying. "Hell yeah we did. And a lot."

"Clem and I found a few things," Lee replied.

"There's more," Nick commented as he sat his box down beside Kenny's. "Enough to last us the whole winter, baby food and all."

"Really?" Lee inquired.

It was Omid who nodded this time. "Yeah, Lee, we have to go back and get it."

Kenny was about to reply, until they all heard AJ get fussy again in Lee's arms. He sighed, showing his protective nature over the baby.

"Alright, alright. _Some_ of us can go back and get the baby's food, and then we head out. Stayin' for this long is a damn death trap."

"He's right," Lee agreed. "The town's quiet now, but that could change. We should go soon, before we capture any unnecessary attention."

Before they could send a few people out, Clementine pointed out Carlos, Lilly, and Sarah coming back from the small neighborhood. They had some items, too, but they clearly hadn't been as lucky as the others.

"Hey, what'd you find?" Nick inquired.

"We only found blankets for Alvin Junior and Genevieve, and some medicine," Carlos answered.

"We were able to find a lot, including baby food," Omid replied with a small smile.

Lilly nodded in approval. "Good. We should go, before walkers find out we're here."

"Okay, so who's going back?" Kenny asked.

"I'll go," Nick volunteered.

"Me too," Lilly said.

Kenny nodded, and looked back towards Lee and other others. "We'll be back soon. Until then, keep an eye out," he warned.

Lee nodded as he rocked the baby in his arms, "You got it, hurry back," he said and watched the three of them walk back in the direction they came in. Hopefully they wouldn't be gone long, because splitting up never proved to be a good thing, at least, not from the experiences that they had all had.

"Hey Lee, you mind giving me one of those blankets you and Clem found?" Omid asked, pulling Lee out of his thoughts. "It's getting pretty cold out here and Genevieve is starting to shiver," he added, and he was right. The temperature was dropping with each minute they were just standing here. They needed to get on the move fast, or at least find some shelter.

"Here." Clem gave him one of the blankets.

"The babies are probably hungry, too," Sarah mentioned.

Carlos nodded. "She's right, they haven't had food all day."

"Well I guess we could feed them while we wait for the others," Lee said, going to open up one of the boxes that Nick and Kenny had brought back.

AJ immediately quieted down upon being fed, which was a good thing. It didn't seem like his crying had attracted any walkers, because the part of the town they were in was still empty.

As he continued to feed AJ, Lee realized something. "Did we just volunteer for Lilly and Kenny to head off to the same place? Together?"

"Didn't they fight a lot when we were still at the motor inn?" Sarah inquired, looking from Lee to Carlos. "They were always so loud..."

She also remembered that Larry had been even louder when he was the one ordering them to break it up. No one had forgotten his demanding, booming voice.

"I just hope they're not fighting right now," Clementine added.

* * *

"Kenny, you're going the wrong way," Nick spoke as he and Lilly trailed behind the older man.

He turned around, glaring at Nick. "No, this is the way we came. I know what I'm doing, son." He continued walking, keeping his eyes on the path as they walked. It had snowed more, making the ground less visible, and a light fog lingered in the air.

Nick looked over, shaking his head at Lilly. "It's not the right way..." he muttered.

"Kenny," Lilly spoke firmly. "Nick knows what he's talking about."

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Kenny questioned. "You weren't even with us!"

"We didn't come in this direction," Nick retorted. "If we get lost, it ain't our fault."

"_He_ shouldn't be leading us," Lilly commented. "Shit happens when he tries to be the leader. He's not capable."

"Oh, and you think _you_ are, princess?" Kenny snapped back at her. "Because I remember you tryin' to run that shithole motor inn like a fucking dictator. Look where that lead us."

"I was doing a damn better job of it than _you,_ Kenny." Lilly's voice was a bit louder than she intended, but his final sentence had taken her back to what happened to her dad in Savannah, and being reminded of it made her angry.

"Alright, alright, enough already! Goddamn!" Nick yelled over both of them. He didn't want to be caught in the middle of their arguing, so he stomped over to the front. "I know where we were fuckin' going, so _I'll_ get us there."

"Oh, really? Well, you-" Kenny was interrupted by a gunshot that came from nearby.

"What the fuck was that?" Lilly questioned in a whisper.

"Fuck! Get down!" Nick hissed, looking around for any sign or where the gunshot might have came from. They managed to look around, only to find nothing.

"Get your guns out," he ordered, and Kenny and Lilly obliged, pulling out their pistols.

"We should hide," Lilly said, and Nick nodded in agreement as they crouched and hid behind some trees. Another gunshot could be heard, and this time, Kenny was able to pinpoint where it came from. He looked over through the fog, and saw a few people standing around. It looked to be a group of men, but he couldn't be too sure.

"Over there," he pointed discreetly, and Nick and Lilly followed his gesture.

"Are those fucking bandits?" Lilly questioned, remembering when they had to deal with them before.

"I know you're out here! I saw you!" one of them, presumably the leader, called out. "Give us our supplies, you fuckin' thieves!"

"Thieves?" Lilly hissed in Kenny's direction. "You _stole_ from them?"

"Hey, we didn't steal from anybody!" Nick whispered back. "The supplies were just lying there; nobody was around!"

"Goddamn it!" Kenny snarled. "If the supplies belonged to these bastards, then why the fuck would they leave them where anyone could find them?"

He peeked his head out from behind the tree, keeping his firearm handy. Too bad that wasn't the brightest idea, because he had to retract his position only a couple seconds later, a bullet whizzing past his head.

"I found 'em!" another bandit called out.

"Shit!" Nick cursed. It wouldn't be as easy for he or Lilly, since they were both shot from the other day.

"What do we do?" Lilly questioned, glancing over at Nick and Kenny who were crouched beside her. "We can't waste our ammo on these guys," she replied.

"We might have to," Nick replied. "There's no way we'd be able to sneak past these guys."

Meanwhile, back at the truck, Carlos, Omid and Lee were putting all the kids inside the cab of the truck because the temperature was continuing to drop. That's when they all heard the gunshot ring throughout the air.

"You heard that, right?" Carlos questioned as he looked over at Lee. All of them were beginning to wonder what had happened to Lilly, Nick, and Kenny, and that gunshot might have been their answer.

"Do you think it's them?" Omid asked.

"It has to be," Lee said. "There was nobody else here, we looked."

"We should go check it out," Omid replied.

"I'll go," Lee said. "You guys stay here with the kids."

Omid nodded once. "Good luck. And try to come back in one piece."

"Yeah, got it," Lee replied as he took out his gun as well as his hatchet in case he ran into any walkers. He turned to Clementine, who had Genevieve seated on her lap. "I'll be back when I can, sweet pea. Okay?"

"Okay, Lee," Clementine said, but you could tell that she was worried for him by looking into her eyes.

Lee turned around and ran in the direction of the gunshots, quickly making his way to the edge of the woods. He was positive that Nick, Lilly, and Kenny were hiding and trying to fire shots. He hid behind the corner of the building, trying to form a plan. It would be a bit similar to the one Lilly had the day the motor inn fell.

He saw Kenny peek out from behind a tree and take a shot, hitting one of the bandits in the stomach. Lee took action, then, by aiming his gun carefully and hitting the same bandit in the head, killing him. Then, he made a beeline for the other side to remain unseen, and to distract the other bandits from killing his friends.

"There's more of 'em!" the leader shouted.

The bandits began shooting at Lee, which allowed Nick to shoot one right in the head. There were about four of them left, and it came down to nothing but an old fashioned shootout. Each would wait for someone to come out from their cover, and then fire a shot. At that rate, they'd be stuck here for awhile. Nick looked around, trying to come up with a better plan, and something caught his eye right away.

"Fuck!" he hissed, looking off into the distance.

"What is it?" Kenny asked, not looking back.

"Walkers," Nick replied, eyeing a small group of them as they made their way closer to the sound of gunshots.

"Goddamn it," Lilly muttered. She shot one of them and quickly ran to another corner, keeping her eyes peeled for anything trying to sneak up on her. That wouldn't happen, she was too observant.

Nick too was running to another corner, but he ending up tripping on a fallen tree. This was pretty lucky, because the bullet that was now flying past him would have killed him. But now he had another problem.

"Fuck, my ankle!" he hissed.

But he barely had time to react to the growing pain, and began crawling over to his rifle, which was half buried in the snow.

"Nick!" Lee called out.

"I'm fine!" he yelled back, making it to his rifle. He picked it up and fired shots as he laid on the ground. He managed to hit another bandit before hurrying and crawling to some cover. It wasn't safe to stay out in the open in a situation like this. The walkers were getting closer, and Kenny knew they had to get the hell out of here before it was too late.

"Shit, how many more of these guys are there?" Kenny muttered, as he continued firing shots.

That question was immediately answered when one of the walkers snuck up to the leader and tackled him down to the ground, biting him between the chin and neck before his companions could react and prevent it. This distracted the remaining two bandits, and the group knew that they had to take their leave.

"We have to go, now!" Lee whispered.

"Fuck, can you walk?" Lilly turned to Nick and asked.

He shook his head quickly. "I think it's broken."

"Fuck, we'll have to carry him," Kenny replied, lifting Nick off the ground and supporting his weight.

"I'll get his other side," Lee said. "Lilly, you'll have to cover us."

"On it, now let's get the fuck out of here," she replied, before they quickly came back the way they came. The fog had increased more, and it had begun to snow as well. Lilly led the way as the other three men trailed behind her.

"Hopefully Carlos can do something about the leg," Lee commented as they walked.

From where they had been, they could hear the remaining bandits yelling and swearing about their prey having gotten away. But now they had to be careful of any walkers that had heard the gunshots, and they had the feeling that the town wasn't quite as empty anymore.

"Take the hatchet out of my pocket," Lee advised Lilly. "See it in the front? That way, we won't have to waste any more bullets. Not unless it's a real emergency."

Lilly obliged, taking the hatchet from Lee's pocket and keeping it gripped tightly in her hand. She made sure to keep the gun out, too.

"I can't believe we got ourselves into this shit," Kenny grumbled. "And we couldn't even get the damn baby food."

"We have enough for several days," Lee pointed out. "There was some in the drugstore Clem and I were in."

The whole time they were walking back, the only walkers they saw were ones in the distance, still headed for the forest where the shootout had taken place and still thinking that there were people there.

"Dumbasses," Lilly muttered more to herself than to anybody. "Good. They'll be off our backs this way."

The moment Carlos saw Nick in Lee and Kenny's arms, he jogged forward.

"What happened?"

"Kid tripped and broke his ankle," Kenny replied. "None of us got shot, though."

"Again," Lilly threw over her shoulder, going to lean against the truck.

"Get him into the truck and I'll look it over," Carlos said. He didn't look too happy about Sarah and the other kids having to exit the warmth, though.

"Where's the supplies?" Omid asked, looking around confused.

Kenny scoffed. "Apparently they belonged to someone else."

"What?" Omid asked.

"That's who attacked us," Nick commented.

"It's fine," Lee waived it off. "We got what we can, it'll be good enough for now."

"Ah!" Nick yelped out in pain. "Shit, Carlos, be careful," he said as the doctor poked and prodded at his already swollen ankle. He wasn't able to do much to it, except wrap it tightly with some bandages, and put some snow on it so the swelling would go down.

"I can't tell if it's broken yet," Carlos answered. "We'll have to wait until the swelling goes down."

"Great." Kenny threw his hands in the air. "Can we get the fuck out of here now?"

"He's right," Lee said. "There were a couple bandits we didn't kill. We need to go before they track us."

Everyone piled into the truck again, this time, with Lee driving, Nick and the children inside, and everybody else in the back. Hopefully, Wellington was a real place.


	33. Safety

**Well, it's that time again, guys, the final chapter. Once again, we would like to thank you all for being so supportive!**

* * *

It wasn't until several days later that the truck ended up running out of gas, the group having been unable to find diesel for it. Now, it was back to endless walking to God only knew where, if Wellington wasn't real.

"How do you even know where the hell you're going?" Lilly chastised. "We don't even have a map, for Christ's sake!"

"I know the way," Kenny argued back. "I'm takin' us in the direction the truck drove us, which is north!"

"Here we go again," Clementine muttered to Lee.

"Guys, come on, this has got to stop," Omid spoke up, trying to be the peacemaker. "Can't we just see what happens when we get there?"

"That's probably for the best," Carlos added.

"How much longer do you think it'll take?" Sarah questioned to no one in particular.

"As long as it needs to," Kenny replied. The wind whistled through the air, causing them all to shiver. They needed shelter, and soon, so hopefully they wouldn't be walking much longer. The supplies they had collected back in the town were allowing them to do well for themselves, but they were careful on how much they ate, or how much they fed the babies. After all, they wanted to make them last.

It was after several days of walking, when Nick noticed a cloud of smoke far off in the distance. "Do you guys see that, too?" he asked to the rest of the group, and they followed his gaze as they continued to walk.

"Holy shit," Kenny muttered. It was way off in the distance, but the cloud of smoke was huge!

"It'll probably take us a few more days to get there," Lee replied, pointing out the obvious.

"That's got to be Wellington," Kenny added, looking back at Lee. "It's got to be."

"Yeah, well, we'll see," Lilly replied bitterly.

"Well, shit, at least we know which way to head now!" Kenny yelled out, ignoring her.

"That's great," Clementine said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"We should probably find some shelter for the night," Carlos said. "It's getting dark."

"He's right," Lee agreed. "We shouldn't travel during the night. Maybe that smoke signal will help us the rest of the way."

"God, I hope so," Omid replied, shaking his head slightly as he continued to look at the smoke. "I mean, Jesus. If that's a cook fire, then we're all set, right?"

"That would be amazing," Sarah said with a smile.

They found a very small building to stay in for the night, and they were packed like sardines. But they were able to start a fire and get warm. It had snowed a lot these past few days they had walked, and they were sure that was why they hadn't seen any walkers. Winter, and the cold did make them slow down, so that was a good thing.

"Do you really think it's there, Lee?" Clementine asked her guardian once everyone else had fallen asleep. "Do you really think we'll find it? And we'll be safe?"

"I hope so, sweet pea," he whispered to her. And at this point, it was for everyone's sake, not just Clementine, but for the babies, and for Kenny as well. Lee was sure the man would lose his sanity if they didn't come across Wellington soon.

Morning came quickly, and even though everyone would have liked to sleep in, the new they still had to get up and get moving. So quickly, they ate a small portion for breakfast, fed the babies, and they were off.

"I miss being able to play in the snow," Sarah mused, looking at all of the pure whiteness around them. "Do you ever miss it, Clem? Have you ever seen it?"

"I miss a lot of things," Clem answered. "It didn't really snow much in Georgia. Sometimes it did, though."

That was really the only chatter, because the adults remained silent for some reason. Oh well, it was better than Lilly and Kenny's constant arguing. It was just as bad now as it had been two years ago, and honestly, it was getting on everyone's nerves.

Their conversation was interrupted by Kenny's awed, "Holy shit."

"It must have been closer than we thought!" Omid piped up.

Lee walked slightly up the hill and inspected the smoke which was, exactly, closer than the group had thought.

"I think it's just a little further," he told Kenny, who was coming up the hill carrying AJ.

"We could all go for a hot meal right now," Kenny replied. "Might be all I need."

They continued to walk up the hill, until finally, they were met with metal walls.

"Holy fuck," Nick muttered. "It's real..."

"It's about time," Carlos said as they all stood in awe at the front gate.

"You're tellin' me," Kenny replied. "What are we waitin' for? Come on!"

"We can finally be safe now," Omid said. "Have food to eat," he trailed off. "It'll be great."

They began to walk forward, until suddenly, a bullet rang throughout the air, stopping them.

"That's far enough," a woman's voice rang throughout the air through an intercom.

"What the fuck?" Lilly hissed.

"Just stay still, do what she says," Lee instructed. "Everybody who doesn't have a weapon, put your hands up."

"Drop your weapons," the same voice continued, once they obliged.

After looking at each other briefly, everyone who had a weapon immediately surrendered it.

"Approach the gate."

The group walked forward, stopping just before the large gates of Wellington. The woman was talking on a walkie-talkie, and when she was done, she looked down.

"Hi, I'm Edith," she introduced herself.

Lee greeted her, and introduced himself and everybody who remained in their group.

"Hello," Edith said, and that was when she noticed the two babies. "Oh, aren't they cute. What are their names?"

"This is Genevieve," Omid said, smiling a bit.

"Alvin Junior. AJ for short," Kenny added.

"He's gonna be a little heartbreaker when he grows up," Edith smiled.

"This is Wellington, right?" Nick asked.

Edith nodded. "A lot of people call it that."

"What do we do to get in?" Lee asked, a little unsure, glancing up at the woman.

"Well, I'm afraid this is the part where I give you bad news," Edith said, a frown adorning her face.

"See," Lilly muttered. "I knew it was bullshit."

"Bad news?" Sarah inquired.

Edith threw down a bag, and they all just stared at it.

"The hell's this?" Kenny demanded.

"That's some supplies," Edith explained. "Food, water, medicine, a first-aid kit..."

"What? Why are you giving us this?" Nick questioned, glaring up at the woman.

"Unfortunately, our community isn't accepting new members. We're over-capacity as it is, and there's just not enough to go around. Things might change in a few months-"

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," Lilly spoke up. "After everything we've been through..."

"Look, I'm sorry to have to do this, but you're really not the first people we've had to turn away," Edith explained. "I mean-"

"Can't you at least take a couple of us, then?" Lee finally asked, stepping forward. "We have two children and two babies. Can't you make an exception this once?"

Edith thought long and hard about it, taking barely under a minute. "I can ask. But we can't take all of you. I really wish we could, I do. But..."

"Thank you," Kenny said, now looking less pissed.

"Lee, what are you doing?" Carlos inquired. "We can't separate."

"I'm doing what's best for the group, for Clementine," he answered. In hearing these words, Clementine tensed up, and grabbed Lee's hand, squeezing it tight. She didn't want to leave him, and she didn't want him to leave her. She didn't want to lose anybody anymore. After all, their group was small enough as is.

"It's safe here," Kenny added with a nod. "The kids will be safe."

"Lee?" Clementine asked. "What's going on?"

"It's alright, Clementine," he assured her, squeezing her hand back. "It's okay." He assured _himself_ that he wasn't going to lose her today. Ever since she had lost her real parents, he was all she had. That wasn't going to end today.

Lilly looked down at the ground. "If they accept, then some should go. It's well-rounded here."

"At least one of the babies," Carlos volunteered. "They would not make it out here."

At that moment, Edith came back. "We can take two of you. But only two."

There was silence among the group for a few moments, Clementine still grasping Lee's hand for dear life. That was when Lee noticed that Omid was looking down at Genevieve almost sadly.

"Omid," he said.

Omid looked up. "Yeah, dude?"

"Do you think this place would be safe for Genevieve?" Lee inquired.

Omid shook his head. "Lee, no, I can't."

"You deserve the spot. After everything you've been through..." Lee trailed off. "You guys would be safe here. Genevieve would have food."

"But where would you guys go?" he inquired.

Lee shrugged. "We'll manage like we always do."

A moment of silence took place, until Omid spoke up again. "Are you really sure you want me to go? What about Kenny and AJ, or Carlos and Sarah?" he continued to ask.

"I've managed to care for Sarah this long, I think we'll be okay," Carlos answered.

"And I've already lost Lee and Clem once," Kenny added. "I don't think I'd be able to do it again."

"Okay," Omid nodded.

"So you'll go?" Lee asked.

"...yeah. I'll go."

"Alright." Lee held out his hand for Omid to shake, and the shorter man did so. "You take care, man. Have a good life. She'll be much better off."

"Thanks, Lee," Omid replied. "All of you stay safe. Be careful out there, okay?"

"We will," Nick answered.

Both Clementine and Sarah hugged Omid good-bye, and the man walked forward, looking back one more time.

"Say good-bye, sweetie," he said to his daughter as Edith appeared at the large open Wellington gates. With a final nod and small smile, Omid walked into Wellington, carrying Genevieve to safety. After a final wish from Edith, the gates closed.

"I'm gonna miss Omid," Sarah spoke up.

"Me, too," Clementine added.

"So, where do we go now?" Kenny asked. He didn't look too upset, because two people were now safe.

"The cabin," Lilly said without hesitation. "It was safe there, and we had room for everybody, and supplies. We're going back there."

Kenny looked at her skeptically, then turned to Lee. "Is this true, Lee? Is it what she says?"

Lee nodded. "Yeah. It's secluded...and big enough for all of us."

"It will take us a long time to get back there though," Carlos commented. "We'll have to walk for quite a while."

"We'll make it," Lilly said. "And then we won't have to go anywhere ever again for a while." They began to walk back from the direction they came, all still feeling bittersweet about leaving Omid and Genevieve behind. Lee knew it was for the best, though, and he knew that they would be safe from here on out, and hopefully, they'd all meet again some day.

"Man," Nick interrupted everyone's thoughts. "It's going to be weird there without having Luke, or Bec, or Alvin..." he trailed off.

Carlos sighed. "You're right, it is..."

"We're gonna be fine," Lee assured them. "Now we won't have to worry about anybody like Carver ever again. We can live in peace."

"I'm glad," Clementine replied.

Lilly smiled, if only just a bit. "It'll be nice, living somewhere without worrying about anyone coming after you. Without our lives at stake."

You could tell that she was happy with this decision, as it would be the first time she and the others would be living without someone after them since the motor inn.

And they continued to walk, stopping at night to make shelter and camp, until they came upon some familiar surroundings like Howe's, and the ski lodge, and they knew they were getting closer and closer to the cabin. A part of them hoped that it hadn't been overrun by walkers or someone else hadn't taken it over. If that were the case, then they'd have to come up with a new plan.

They were all glad when they knew it was close. They were sick of traveling and just wanted some place warm to rest.

"I think we're getting close," Lee pointed out nearly a week later. "I can see the river that's nearby."

And he was right, because they were coming up on the river with the bodies, and where Lee had saved Pete's life. If only that had worked out for longer than they expected.

Kenny raised his eyebrows in fascination. "And you told me that they went fishin' here, Clem?"

"Yeah, we did," Clementine replied.

"Well, I'll be damned. Never thought I could do that again."

"We have to keep moving, we're nearly there," Carlos spoke up. He mainly said this due to the fact that he didn't want Sarah around all of those dead bodies. He knew that she wouldn't handle that well.

"I think AJ will like it there," Sarah said, smiling at the small baby in Kenny's arms. "He'll be happy."

And then, twenty or so minutes later (although it felt like twenty _years_), they finally, finally made it. Sarah excitedly tried to run forward, but Carlos gently yet firmly told her that they had to wait.

"Lee, come with me to check the inside," Lilly said.

He walked with her, weapon ready as they approached the cabin. They opened the front door carefully, in case anything were to jump out at them, but they were met with silence. But they kept their eyes open just in case, and much to their surprise, it was empty. The cabin was exactly how they left it, it had gone untouched.

"I'll check the upstairs," Lee said, before walking up the steps.

"I got kitchen," Lilly replied.

Lee decided to go up the stairs slowly, weapon ready in hand just in case. He checked the bathroom first, in the closet and behind the shower curtain, but it was all empty. It almost, almost felt like he was in Savannah again, checking out the mansion only minutes before Larry passed away. That was a hell of a time.

But luck was on his side as he checked every nook and cranny of the upstairs part of the cabin, finding out that all was safe. He didn't know that the cabin was hidden this well.

Lee returned downstairs to Lilly examining the small closet, the one with the trapdoor underneath.

"How's everything down here?" he inquired.

"Empty. Nothing's here," Lilly answered. "And upstairs?"

"Nothing except for everything we left behind. I think it's safe to stay here."

Lilly nodded. "Right."

Lee walked back out onto the front porch. "All clear, guys," he called out, and the rest of the group came inside.

"I can have my old room back, right, Dad?" Sarah asked.

Carlos nodded. "You can stay wherever you like, sweetie," he told her, before she took off running upstairs with Clementine trailing right behind her.

Upon entering the cabin, Kenny let out a low whistle, taking a look at the surroundings.

"I gotta admit, this is nice," he commented. "Like a real home. This is perfect for AJ."

"Ain't that the truth," Lee agreed. He and Kenny went to sit on one of the couches, while Nick was laying on the other one, resting his leg. Lilly and Carlos had gone to organize the supplies, and the girls could be heard talking and laughing upstairs.

Despite after everything they had been though, despite the journey and how many people they had lost, this was not a bad outcome. And at least they were finally safe once more. They wouldn't have to worry about Carver anymore, because he was long gone, and winter slowed the walkers down significantly.

"We're gonna need firewood," Kenny stated. "And lots of it."

"I'll talk to Carlos," Lee replied. "Maybe tomorrow the three of us can go looking for some. We're already in the woods, so it shouldn't be too hard, right?"

"We usually found it by the river banks," Nick spoke up from the other couch. Clearly he wasn't asleep, like Lee had originally thought. "We'd bring enough home to last a week or two."

"Sounds good," Kenny agreed. At that moment, AJ began to fuss and cry in his arms. "Shh, shh, it's alright, little guy." He turned to Lee, standing up. "I'll be back."

When he left the room with the baby, Clementine and Sarah came back down the stairs, with Clementine taking Kenny's spot next to Lee on the couch. Sarah had decided to go see what her dad and Lilly were doing.

"How are you settling in, sweet pea?" Lee inquired, smiling down at the little girl.

"Great," Clementine answered honestly. "Sarah and I might play a game later."

"You alright with staying here?" he asked her.

She nodded. "I like it a lot...and we'll be safe for a long time."

"Yeah," Lee agreed. "We will."

* * *

**And there's the end of the co-written story. Heidi and I thank you all, again, for the support over the last two stories. We're not too sure about another sequel, though, because Season 3 is still a while away and it feels complete right here. We're probably going to write together again sometime in the future, but keep in mind that we both get busy with college and daily life. But until then, see you next time!**


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